Hiding in the Open
by toastycakes
Summary: Naruto's lived his life as a girl ever since his father's death. No one knew his secret. But when Sasuke moves in after his family's murder, it gets harder not to spill the beans. And what happens when his father's murderer is back in town? sasunaru R
1. Chapter 1

Foundation? Check. Eyeliner? Check. Mascara? Check. Eye shadow? Check. Lip Gloss? Check. Done with that, the girl placed the fillets into her bra to give her the A-cup sized chest that she lacked, and then shimmied into her orange dress with practiced ease and then zipped it up on the side. The dress had thin straps stretching over her shoulders to her back where the crossed each other to form an 'x', and a blue sash that matched her eyes tied around her waist. It ended near her knees to show off her smoothly shaven, tan legs. She slipped her feet into light golden flats as she expertly tied her long blonde hair into two high pigtails like she did every other day.

The girl did another once over out of caution and habit as she caught herself in the tall mirror her mother had given her years before. She exhaled loudly and tried to shake her nerves doing a small shiver that spread through all of her body. It was the first day of school. The same one she'd gone to since she moved when she was 6. She got nervous every year on this day but not because school was starting again. She always got nervous she'd suddenly be discovered and if she were, then no one would come near her.

No one had seen under her façade yet, but hers was one that could be discovered easily and at any time. It was no gigantic emotional secret nor was it deep depression she was hiding, although she tended to have relapses at times. But that was different. No. What she feared being discovered was the reason for her wearing a dress, for having to stuff her bra. You see, the flat chested girl with a small stuffed bra on, currently walking out of her room at this moment had a reason for being so flat chested. It was because she was really a boy. And his name was Naruto.

* * *

"Good morning Naruko," a tall woman with brown hair said as she put toast upon a plate. She refused to call her cross dressing son Naruto. It'd been her fantasy that she'd forced upon him to make up for his being born a boy. She'd always wanted a girl, and she'd been fine at first with him being a boy seeing as he looked very effeminate. That was, until his father, Arashi, was killed. She'd been even more depressed than Naruto at the time and began to dress him as a girl for comfort. It wasn't too long after that she'd dubbed him Naruko, and then refused to return to calling him his original name. Naruto hadn't cared then. He let him mother do to him as she wanted because it made her happy. If she saw him dressed or looking remotely as a boy, she pretended he wasn't there or went into depressive fits. And he loved her too much to even think about telling her that he wanted to go back to being a boy now.

"Morning mom," he said with a smile.

"I made you some breakfast. You better hurry up or you'll be late to your first day of school," she told him. "What took you so long up there?"

"The usual things mom. How do I look?" he asked, giving her a small twirl. His mom smiled at this.

"Very pretty, honey. Now hurry, eat!" she said, pushing the plate of buttered toast towards him. Naruto grabbed his already packed bag from the couch in the living room and swung it over his shoulder. Then he came back into the kitchen.

"I think I'll just eat it while I walk. You know I hate the bus," he said, taking the toast. His mom had already turned back to her cooking.

"Alright honey. Have a fun day at school," she called after him as he left the house.

* * *

"Naruko-chan! Hey!" a pink haired girl called out as she spotted the blonde. Said blonde flashed her that fox like grin she always had. Sakura returned the grin along with her other blonde friend Ino. Sakura and Ino were practically connected at the hips since they were almost never apart. The trio hugged, happy to see each other once again after the long summer away. Naruko unabashedly gave each girl a kiss on the cheek, but neither found it strange. It was just the blonde's habit to kiss her friends on the cheek either in greeting or farewells.

"So, how were your summers guys?" Naruko asked them. The three entered the building side-by-side, and making their way through the crowds. The Sakura and Ino told him almost the same story but each added their own mini adventures of when they weren't together. When they asked about Naruko's summer, she just said boring and switched the subject to their schedules. They found that they had two classes together, Health and gym. Neither of which any of them were very fond of. In gym they would have an over eccentric teacher that made them run somewhere near 50 laps as a warm up, and just to show his devotion to the class, he was do the 50 laps with them on his hands. And then his little mini-me Rock Lee would join him in running on his hands with enthusiasm. In Health they'd have a perverted teacher who was rumored to write porn of the side and said the pictures he kept of naked women were for teaching anatomy, even though he never pulled them out except to look at himself during a lunch period. Students always wondered why they had such strange teachers.

Sakura had opted to take an honors class for practically everything, and Ino had only chosen honor classes for English and Science. Naruko took only normal level classes, not thinking herself smart enough to take even one honors class. She'd never been good with summer projects or studying.

The bell rang, and the three left each other reluctantly, promising to meet up during free period for lunch.

* * *

"Hinata-chaaaaaaaaaan!" Naruko yelled, jumping onto the blue haired girl. Hinata's face blew up in red as Naruko landed a kiss on her cheek as well before getting off her.

"H-hello Naruko-chan," Hinata said. The pair had only met the year before when both had needed a lab partner in Science. Hinata was too shy to ask someone to be her partner, and Naruko felt bad to see the shy girl all alone. And so, the two became partners, and soon after, good friends. Hinata was still getting used to the kisses on the cheek from her new friend, but she didn't quite mind it. She smiled at the blonde and asked, "H-how was your s-summer?"

"It was so boring! It would have been better if I could have hung out with you or Sakura and Ino-chan. Oh, hey, you wanna sit with us at lunch during free period?" Naruko said eagerly.

"S-sure Naruko-chan. Where are you e-eating?" Hinata replied.

"We were thinking about going up to the roof. I'll pick you up on the way, so wait for me, okay?" Naruko said. The blue-haired girl nodded. "So how was your summer? How's your dad treating you?"

"It's been o-okay. H-he's starting t-to see things my w-way. I've s-seen N-Neji around more t-too," she told the blonde.

"Is he still being a bastard to you? If he is, I'll beat his ass-!"

"He's n-not Naruko," Hinata said, interrupting her ranting friend. "He w-walked me to school this m-morning and w-we talked a little. I-it was nice."

Naruko smiled to see how happy this made Hinata. The shy girl had been trying to be friends with her cousin for years, and he'd treated her badly by taking his anger at her father out on her, causing her low self-esteem. When Naruko had challenged him about it and made him see there was no sense in taking it out on an innocent girl, he'd stopped. Neji avoided Hinata for the rest of the year, and Naruko was troubled about it during the summer, knowing the boy lived on the same estate as the shy girl. She was relieved to know the boy was trying in an awkward attempt to earn the forgiveness that he knew Hinata would give out easily.

"Alright. But just tell me if he starts acting like a jerk to you again okay?" Naruko said. Hinata grinned and nodded.

"Okay class, time to start," the teacher, Iruka, said above the din of the class as he walked in. Groans were heard at this. "I'm just going to hand out some papers and forms that your parents have to fill out, explain some things about what we'll be doing this year, and then you can all go back to socializing."

* * *

"Hey guys! I brought a friends, so I hope you don't mind!" Naruko announced as she burst through the door to the roof with Hinata following behind. Sakura and Ino looked up at the shy girl with smiles.

"Hey Hinata-chan. I didn't know you and Naruko-chan were friends," Sakura said.

"W-we only met l-last y-year," replied the blue haired girl.

"And you never invited her to sit with us before? Shame on you Naruko-chan," Ino said, clicking her tongue. But a smile covered her face to show she was only joking.

"Sorry. But you can sit with us whenever you want Hinata-chan. Okay?" Naruko said with a pout. Said girl only nodded her head with a small smile and whispered a light 'arigatou'.

* * *

A blonde girl sat on the stairs of the school, waiting rather impatiently (she was already tapping her foot in random beats to keep herself entertained) for a tall brown haired man. Just as she was about to go all out and dance around to the beat in her head, the person she'd been waiting for arrived…and walked right past her. This irked her a bit, plus the fact that she'd had to wait so long. Rushing down the steps and jumping on the man's back, she cried out,

"Irukaaaaa-senseeeeiiiiiiii!!"

The teacher nearly fell flat on his fact at the force. Poor man.

"Hello to you too Naruko-san," Iruka replied, a sweat drop forming on his head at the girl's obnoxious introduction. Naruko grinned and climbed off the man's back. They started walking together.

"Why were you waiting for me?" Iruka asked.

"You don't remember? Last year you said you'd take me to ramen after the first day of school!" she replied with a pout. Iruka scratched his nose sheepishly.

"I guess I did forget. But I haven't made any plans, so I can still take you out. I'll pay for everything to make up for forgetting, alright?"

"Yatta!" Naruko shouted with glee. Oh, Iruka's wallet was in for a rough ride today.

* * *

Naruko slurped her ramen down quickly, already on her fourth bowl. Iruka was just finishing his first by this time and was already regretting not giving his student a limit.

"So are you and Kakashi-sensei together yet?" the blonde asked. Iruka sputtered at the question, his face turning a dark red.

"How-! Wha-what gives you the idea I want to be with that pervert?" he stuttered. Naruko gave him a fox like grin.

"That just confirmed it sensei," she replied. "You know, denial isn't a very healthy habit."

The brunette man didn't know what to say to that, and so simply poked at his cool noodles.

"So now that I know you two aren't together, how are things between you two?" Naruko asked, finishing her fifth bowl.

"W-well I…he…were just barely friends right now. There's really nothing between us at the moment," Iruka replied in a somewhat saddened voice. His face was still covered by a blush, though it was lighter now.

"Nothing between whom, Iruka-san?"

Kakashi sat beside the brunette whose face blew up in red once again.

"N-nothing, Hatake-san. W-wh-what brings you here?" he asked with a nervous smile.

"Someone told me I should try the ramen here, so I decided to stop by and see," Kakashi replied. The eye that wasn't covered by the square eye patch was closed in a semi-circle to show he was smiling. One was never too sure since a mask always covered his face. At this statement, Iruka realized just who it was that had told Kakashi to come here. He turned to his other side growling out his student's name…only to find an empty seat. He glared at the empty seat heatedly. That girl was just too quick. She may not act it at times, but she could be pretty cunning. Iruka sighed heavily. And he'd still have to pay for the bill…

"Anything wrong Iruka-san?" Kakashi asked from behind him. The brunette turned back to the silver haired man with a tired smile.

"No, no. Everything's just fine Hatake-san," he replied. He signaled for the bill.

"Ah, alright," Kakashi said, turning to his bowl of ramen. "And you know, you can just call me Kakashi, Iruka-san." The brunette blushed again. Well…maybe one more bowl couldn't hurt.

"R-right," he said. He knew he'd regret this extra bowl of ramen later, but right now he really couldn't care. Naruko was still going to get an earful about this later…

* * *

**A/N: **Alright. Soooo…yeah. This is my first story, and I expect that this is crap. I hate how I've written this first chapter, but I don't really want to change anything in it either. This is basically an introduction to some of the characters that will be more prominent in the story (except for Sasuke and Itachi of course, although I'm not sure if Itachi will play a very big part. But anywho, they're coming next chapter I think…) and shows some of their daily life before Sasuke appears. I'll let you all know now (if anyone at all happens to be reading this), I've always been a lazy-ass, and will always be a lazy-ass. Expect random intervals between chapters. Reviews help motivate me, but I can never be too sure when I can update this since school is in full-swing now. I will try my best though for you, the readers. And hopefully I will like how the next chapter comes out better than this one. Anywho, I hope all you who've actually read my crap liked it. Reviews are appreciated, and flames are used to burn homework and projects. Have a nice day.

**Disclaimer:** um, let me think…nope. I don't own it. I am not worthy… (falls over…)


	2. Chapter 2

_Shit, shit, shit! Stupid alarm clock!_

Naruto ran frantically towards his school. Even if he _had_ wanted to ride the bus, he'd already missed it. The walk there usually took at least 10 minutes, and right now he had about…3 minutes until homeroom started.

_Shit!!_

_**Maybe you should have actually set it then, you moron.**_

Naruto almost stopped running at the sound of the growling voice. It'd been a while since it had spoken to him. It spoke up once in a while, but the last time they _really _talked was…

_Shut it you…I don't need your nagging voice on top of Iruka's right now. I'll have it bad enough as it is with him from leaving yesterday when Kakashi-sensei came._

_**Yeah, yeah, sure. I may have a nagging voice, but I'm not the guy wearing a dress and acting like a girl, you brat.**_

_Just shut up._

The voice didn't answer back. Naruto clenched his teeth. That voice always knew how to rile him up. His breath was coming out in short tuffs now. He didn't exactly feel like yelling at the voice for the reasons that one, he was already short on breath, and two, the people around him would think he were crazy if he did…not that he wasn't crazy. He knew having a voice in your head besides your conscious qualified anyone as a crazy person. He just didn't feel like shouting it to the world. Anyway…

He burst into the building and stood in the doorway, catching his breath for a few seconds before he continued on to the office. He hated the fact that he had to sign in, but it was school procedure.

"Hey Deidara-san," he said as he walked in. The blonde man looked up at Naruto with a smile. His long hair fell over his left eye and was usually tied some of his hair into a high ponytail.

"Hey there chibi. Woke up late again?" he said. Naruto scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah. Just like last year, huh?" he replied. He moved towards the sign in sheet on the counter. "So how's your boyfriend?"

"Great," Deidara replied dreamily with a bit of a sigh. Suddenly he gave an excited grin. "He said that he's moving here with his little brother. Terrible thing happened to their parents, but I'll be here to comfort him now! I think they got here a few days ago, but I've been too busy to go see him. I hope I can see him soon though."

"I hope you can too," Naruto said. "I'll see you later Deidara-san!"

"Have a nice day, chibi!" the blonde man called after him. With that, Naruto was running off through the halls again. Sure running was against the rules, but who said you were breaking rules if no one saw you?

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha walked down the halls of the unfamiliar school. He was a handsome boy of 16 with dark spiked hair and midnight black eyes. His skin was pale in comparison, though it seemed a natural color for him, and not at all sickly, as it may seem on another person. He was a model student. One that usually surpassed any other student in any subject, and sometimes, in any sport. But even with all of that on his side…why couldn't he find his god damn homeroom?!!

The boy sighed in frustration as he looked again at his schedule and then at the rooms surrounding him. His room was in the 200s and rooms surrounded him in the 100s. Great. Now he probably had to go all the way back to the other side of the school. He turned on his heel and headed in the other direction to wander around someplace else until he found his homeroom.

Stupid Itachi. Doesn't even let me tour the damn place before dropping me off here.

Sasuke grumbled on as he walked about bastard brothers and getting lost in a stupid building. He was about to turn a corner, but someone came around first, knocking straight into him. He hissed as his head hit the hard floor. A heavy body laid on top of him, but the person soon realized their position and scrambled to get up. Sasuke sat up, cursing under his breath as he felt the forming lump on the back of his head.

"I'm so sorry. I was just late to class so I was running, and then I didn't think anyone else would be out in the halls…"

Sasuke looked up and met cerulean orbs. His eyes traveled to the face to see whisker like scars on the girl's cheeks, to the blonde hair in two high pig tails, to her outfit, which consisted of a white long sleeved shirt with orange sleeves, blue jeans, and orange and white sneakers to match her shirt, although they seemed worn bare, and then finally to her hand which was held out to help him. Well, seeing that she was a girl, added to the fact that most girls he met turned into raving fan-girls, he didn't exactly like her at first glance. And so, he merely ignored the hand and got up himself. Seeing this, the girl retracted her hand, but only for a second. It was soon thrust at him again, this time in a greeting.

"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruko. You must be new here. It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile. Sasuke stared at the girl for a second, and then walked past her to where he thought his homeroom was. This obviously made the girl mad.

She's a persistent one, Sasuke thought.

"Hey! When someone gives you their name, it's polite to give them yours in return!" she said, glaring at him as she kept up with him.

"So?" Sasuke said in reply. The girl pouted, attempting to glare at him at the same time. It wasn't working very well.

"So it's polite, teme," she growled. Sasuke sighed. He couldn't concentrate. Impatiently, he stopped again to look at his schedule, and then his surroundings. The girl saw this and smirked.

"You lost on your first day?" she asked mockingly. Sasuke spared her a glare before walking on in some new direction.

"No." He didn't care if it was to his homeroom, just as long as he got away from this crazy girl.

"Yes you are." Naruko snatched his schedule from his hands and looked over it. Then she frowned.

"What?" he said impatiently.

"Damn. You're in my homeroom," she said. "Great, now I have to deal with the world's biggest jerkass every morning." She groaned once more before turning around and heading back the way she came. "Come on teme, the room's this way."

But Sasuke didn't move. He'd rather find it on his own than follow this annoying girl. She saw this and rolled her eyes.

"You're not coming?" she asked. He gave no reply, and she took it as a no. "Alrighty then. Have fun being lost."

And she walked off, not even checking to see if he was following her. Sasuke, after having a long and difficult internal struggle, followed after the girl at a distance, making sure he wasn't seen. Hey, he needed to get to that room as quickly as possible, and he knew by now, he most definitely was not going to be getting their any quicker if he wandered aimlessly around the school for another hour. The whole trip, Naruko knew he was following her, but took no notice. Sasuke must have felt so sneaky then…

* * *

"It's nice of you to join us Naruko," Iruka said as the blonde girl walked in. She grinned sheepishly, and walked quickly to her seat near Hinata. Sasuke walked in shortly after.

"Ah! Uchiha-san has joined us as well. Uchiha-san is our new student this year, class. Please treat him kindly students. Introduce yourself please."

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. It's a pleasure to meet you all," the dark haired boy said, facing the class with an elegant smile. Naruko frowned and glared at the boy, but she seemed to be in the minority. Most of the other girls were currently ogling at the boy like he was a sex-god. Naruko noticed this and promptly rolled her eyes. Hinata laughed softly at Naruko's reaction, and she just smiled back.

"Alright, you may sit over there, Uchiha-san, next to Uzumaki-san. Raise your hand," Iruka said. Naruko froze at the mention of Sasuke and her names in the same sentence. Trying to stop her eye from twitching at the unfortunate turn of events. She raised her hand begrudgingly, and glared at the smirk that had formed on the boy's face. All the other girls were either still swooning, or complaining that they didn't get to sit next to their "beloved Sasuke-kun" as the boy sat.

* * *

As the day went on, and news had spread about the gorgeous boy, Naruko found herself rolling her eyes much more than usual. Lunchtime swung around, and Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Naruko were sitting on the roof again. Sakura and Ino sighed dreamily.

"He's soooooo handsome!" they squealed together. Naruko could almost see their eyes form hearts. She rolled her eyes yet again while Hinata just sat silently, giving a sympathetic smile to Naruko. She'd told the blue haired girl about her encounter with the new student.

"I hope he's in our gym class as well! Then I'll have three classes with him!" Ino exclaimed.

"I wish he were in my chemistry class instead of yours," Sakura sighed.

"Don't be selfish, forehead-girl," Ino said, playfully calling her friend out with her old nickname that she used from time to time. "You take all honors, and I heard he took all honors too. You'll probably have him in almost all of your classes. It's not fair."

"It's because I'm so smart," Sakura replied with a smirk. "I'm sure he'll like smart girls like me. And then we'll have our own high school romance and go off to get married!"

"Tch," Naruko snorted, interrupting the conversation. She was getting ready to gag with each sentence she heard. "I don't see what's so great about the guy."

Sakura and Ino gasped. "How could you say that?"

Naruko shrugged and said, "He's annoyingly perfect. He's definitely a jerk beneath it. I can just tell."

"Naruko-chan! Don't say rude things like that about Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, hitting the girl over the head. Naruko whined and gave the girl a pout, but said nothing more.

"What do you think Hinata-chan?" Ino asked the silent girl.

"U-um. He's alright…?" she said quietly. Sakura jabbed Ino with her elbow, who yelped in surprise.

"She likes Kiba, remember?" she said. Hinata blew up crimson at this, confirming the girl's statement.

"Oh, really? How come I didn't about know this Hinata?" Naruko asked playfully, slinging an arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"It's so obvious, Naruko. You should have noticed it before us, anyway," Ino said. Naruko stuck her tongue out childishly. The blue haired girl giggled quietly.

* * *

He was in a nightmare. No, something worse than a nightmare because he knew it was real no matter how much he wanted to wake up. He was now scarred for life.

Sasuke sighed heavily as his gym teacher, Gai-sensei hugged his mini-me, known as Lee, once again with tears in his eyes. He could almost see the pair standing on a cliff with waves crashing in the background and a sunset.

…Well that's one image he didn't need to see…

Other than the pair, and the fact that the teacher was wearing a green jumpsuit, the class seemed pretty normal. His fangirls were off to the side, stealing glances at him, while the guys were complaining about it. And then he saw her. Naruko was her name? She'd been really annoying, even if she wasn't a fangirl. Their eyes met, and sparks flashed between them.

"Alright my youthful students! Welcome to another year of physical education! To start off the class, we'll do twenty warm-up laps around the track," Gai announced. Groans were heard from the students. "And just to prove that I will be supporting you all, I'll run with you on my own hands."

"Gai-sensei, that is so inspiring! I shall join you as well to show how devoted I am to the class!" Lee shouted. With that, the pair ran off…on their hands…at a very fast pace…okaaay…

The class followed soon after. Sasuke wasn't too bothered by the number since his family had been in the police force and he'd trained with them once in a while. He passed many of the students more than once without breaking much of a sweat, and didn't notice that he had yet to pass one classmate in particular. He sped up to run beside the blonde girl who was beginning to pant a little. They were already on their fifteenth lap.

"I haven't seen you at all Uchiha. Do you like looking at my ass that much?" she mocked between breaths. He sent her a glare.

"Do you like picking on innocent new students?" he retorted.

"Nope. But you're not all that innocent teme," she replied.

"Hn. Whatever dobe," he said as he pulled in front of her. Her eyes narrowed and her lips twitched into a smirk. Oh yes, he was challenging her. He knew there was no way she could beat him.

Speeding up a little, she pulled herself in front of him again. She sent a smirk back at him, as though to accept his challenge. They only had four laps left. A little longer and they'd only have three. Naruko let up and they ran side-by-side to the starting line. As soon as their feet touched the other side, they broke into sprints. Neither let up, staying neck and neck, not wanting the other to pass. Lee and Gai had already finished together and were cheering on the pair's youthfulness.

It was their last lap. The finish line wasn't far away, but Naruko could feel the strain. She'd never run so fast for so long in her life. No…she had, but now wasn't the time to think of that. She tried to keep up, but her lungs were burning and her calves were aching. They screamed for her to slow down, and to her despair, she started to, allowing the pompous jerk to burst ahead of her and win their little challenge.

Sasuke smirked as he saw her weaken. He knew he'd win. Why wouldn't he? He'd had the training for it. But seeing the girl's stamina almost on par with his…he'd never admit it out loud to anyone, but it made him nervous. He never wanted to feel weak again, like when his parents were murdered. He passed the finish line and slowed to a stop with the blonde girl not too far behind him. The moved off to the side to catch their breaths while the rest of the class finished their laps.

"Teme, you cheated!" Naruko panted, pointing an accusing finger at him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hn," was all he said before he turned and walked away. They both knew he didn't, but Naruko refused to believe it.

"Ugh, teme!!" she shouted, turning and pouting. Sasuke rolled his eyes and the corner of his lip twitched. This girl was rather fun to annoy.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah…sorry this took a while, but I did warn you. Well, there's Sasuke for you. I know he should be more emo, or whatever, but there's not really much in here that I could use to fit emo Sasuke in. He'll angst at some point, like always though. Naruto's gonna have his angst fest at some point to….maybe I should have put this in the angst genre…I just may do that. Anywhosawatchamacalits, I'm very happy this got some reviews, even if it was only two. Thank you for adding my story to your alerts or favorites. I'm hoping I'll get three reviews for this chapter, but as long as I get at least two, I'll be very happy. So please review. I don't care if you flame, for they will be used to burn down my school this time.

**Disclaimer:** ……still not worthy to own it…. (falls over again…)


	3. Chapter 3

Gym again. Naruto sighed as he waited in line. Another thing in school that he hated was physicals. The second gym class of every year was always a physical.

"Next," a nurse, Shizune was her name, called out. Sakura waved to him and disappeared into the room. Each student was taken individually, for which he was very glad, so it normally took an entire period.

Naruto leaned against the wall. Even though most of the school wasn't required to know his true gender, the ones who did knew his situation. This included the nurses Shizune and Tsunade, who was actually his aunt. Sakura reappeared and walked past Naruto with another wave.

"Next," Shizune said, leading him in. He sat on the chair provided and waited for the women to proceed. An old woman, who looked surprisingly young for her age and had large breasts, knelt down beside him.

"Hey kid. How've you been?" she asked as she checked his reactions, hitting just below his kneecap.

"Alright. I have another jerk in my class this year, but it's nothing I can't handle," he replied.

"Bend over," she told him. "How's your mother treating you?" She ran her finger down his spine to check for any ingrowth.

"I think she's getting better. She still calls me Naruko though."

"I see. You really should work on telling her you want to be a boy again," she said.

"I-I know…" he said, looking away. She gave him a hard stare before continuing on in her examination of the boy.

"Stand on the scale."

"How's the…you know?" Shizune asked quietly.

"It's…alright. Only talked to me once just recently." Tsunade gave him a stern look as she measured his height.

"Are you still taking your medicine?" she asked.

"I hate that stuff," Naruto whined. She narrowed her eyes, and he raised his hands defensively.

"But don't worry. I'm taking it, just like I promised," he assured. She flicked his head, walking past him.

"Good. You're all done here, so you can run along now," she told him as she finished writing a few things down.

"Come visit us sometime," Shizune said as she led him out again. It all felt so…professional and yet, casual at the same time.

"Alright. Bye Shizune-san, obaa-san!" Naruto called as he left. Tsunade gripped her pencil at the "obaa-san" comment, breaking it in the process.

"That kid…" she said through gritted teeth as the next student came in. Shizune smiled and gave a nervous laugh.

* * *

"Itaaaachiii-kuuuuuuuun!!" Deidara called as he approached the Uchiha household. The blonde seemed to have no problem with simply bursting through the door, but the door apparently did. It didn't open when the blonde tried to push it open and walk in at the same time, which in turn, caused Deidara to walk into the door. From his position on the ground, he rubbed his forehead, mumbling a soft, "I-itaii…"

The large door opened slowly to reveal a tall man with long, jet-black hair that was tied back into a pony tail at the base of his neck, and strange looking crimson eyes. He wore black pants, a white button up shirt, and a pair of small, silver framed glasses on the bridge of his nose. The man looked impassive for the most part, but if one looked closely, they could see the corners of his lips twitching with amusement and his eyes showing a full out grin that he would never dare to wear on his lips.

"Deidara-kun…" he said in his low voice, catching the man's attention. Said blonde looked up with a grin, and then grasped the other's waist in a hug.

"Itachi-kun!! I missed you so much!" he cried dramatically.

"Yes, yes. I know you have Deidara-kun, but would you mind coming inside first before pummeling me with your death-grips? I think you may be scaring our neighbors with your blatant affection," Itachi said plainly.

"Oh, poo on them, 'tachi-kun. I don't care what they think. You didn't care what my neighbors thought that time that you-"

"Yes, well I don't much care for scaring my neighbors this early in my life here," Itachi said, cutting his lover off from explaining the more explicit part of their night to his new neighbors. Deidara sighed and stood up.

"Fine, fine. But you know it will happen sooner or later, un," he said seductively, adding his childish phrase that he only used around Itachi anymore.

"I'll take you up on that," the raven haired man said, leading his lover into his house, "but it'll have to be later."

Deidara pouted, but skipped on ahead of the other with as happy an air as he had in the beginning. He looked around the smaller house with a smaller smile.

"Decided you didn't need so much room?" he asked quietly.

"Something like that," Itachi answered in an emotionless voice, turning away from the other. Deidara frowned, finding no luck in catching the other's eye.

"Don't shut me out every time we come near the subject of your family, 'tachi-kun," he said.

"I'm not shutting you out."

"Yes you are. I've asked you about it on the phone before, I've asked you if you were all right, but every time I do, you clam up! You won't tell me anything Itachi!"

"You don't need to know everything Deidara. I've told you before, I'm fine, and I'm fine now too. Just leave it alone."

"But you're not! And it hurts me because I know you won't admit it! You shouldn't have to keep all of it in. You shouldn't have to bear all that sadness alone."

"Leave it alone, Deidara."

"Why should I? I care about you, I have a right to know how you're feeling, to know if you're hurting by yourself-!"

"I said leave it alone!" Itachi shouted. The blonde closed his mouth and glared at his lover. He wanted to know. He wanted to share the pain, even if he didn't understand. He wanted to be there for his love, but his love was being a stubborn ass. He wanted to show him he wasn't alone. _Because no who's been hurt like this should have to suffer alone,_ he thought.

Silence stretched between the two. Blue eyes never wavered from crimson ones, both gazes equally intense. One said to back down, the other refusing with all his might. Itachi sighed, refusing to give in.

"Look, its-"

"No, don't even try to make an excuse," Deidara interrupted. "I care for you, and I know you know that. But until you realize that, I'm leaving. All I wanted to do today was make sure you were doing fine…"

With a shake of his head and a final sigh, the blonde turned on his heel and walked right back out of the house before Itachi could even call out to him. Sasuke approached Deidara, who looked about to cry any moment, but was holding it back to look strong.

"Hey…Deidara-niisan," he said slowly. "Is everything all right?"

The blond sniffed quietly and hurried on by him with a mumbled, "Hai, Sasu-chan."

Sasuke watched the blonde's back disappear. He'd known him for most of his life and rarely had he seen the happy man cry from something other than a movie or a book. Sighing apathetically, he walked into the house to see Itachi staring out into space in the middle of the living room.

"Itachi?" he called out. "Itachi!"

The man shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then looked down at his little brother.

"Is…" Sasuke started unsurely. He wasn't sure if he should even be asking. "Are you all right, nii-san?"

"Hai. I'm fine," Itachi responded, looking over Sasuke towards the door.

"Did you and Deidara have a fight?" Sasuke prodded, feeling a little braver. Although, he should have bit this particular question back. Itachi simply patted his brother's head, and then left for his office to work on papers. Maybe work would get his mind off things.

Sasuke simply stared after his brother. He knew Itachi had never been an emotional one, but nonetheless, his lack of response told him something was wrong, and he was sure he knew what it was.

* * *

Chemistry. Oh what a fun class…not! Especially when a certain pair had absolutely none of it. Sapphire glared at obsidian, and obsidian seemed to be winning, as it seemed to be doing a lot lately. Putting the two of them together was possibly the worst thing the teacher could have done, for their sakes and for the class's safety. Naruko pouted and turned away, silently admitting defeat…for now. She'd go for a rematch later in the day, as she always did.

"You two better get working, maggots, or you'll be behind the rest of the class. You've been here nearly a week and a half now, Uchiha-san, and you've been here longer still, Uzumaki-san. You should know I won't accept any sloppy work or late assignments," the teacher, Anko, said in her military-like voice.

"H-hai, hai Anko-sensei," Naruko replied. Sasuke may not have known, but she knew that woman was crazy. She really, _really_ did not want to be stuck in detention with that psychotic bitch. And so, Naruko picked up a test tube, and re-read the instructions. Sasuke looked bored, but tried to help in completing their task so they could get back to hating each other. Hell if he was going to let some blonde chick get in the way of his getting a good grade in this class.

He mixed two of the solutions and swirled them together to see what color they would make so he could record it. Somewhere in the process, his thoughts had drifted off to his brother. He knew he'd had a fight with Deidara, but he didn't quite know the reasons. Itachi seemed to be isolating himself in his work more often now. Although it was a bit expected since he'd been given a lot of assignments at the department, along with…what happened to their parents…Sasuke sighed. _He should try to apologize, in the very least,_ he thought.

But he knew his brother had too much pride and ego to give in and resort to that right away. But still…he had sort of been looking forward to having Deidara around more. His energetic air reminded him of his mother…

Suddenly he noticed Naruko about to mix two solutions together that were not supposed to be mixed at all. He grabbed the girl's wrist and stopped her just in time.

"You aren't supposed to mix them, dobe," he said calmly. She frowned.

"Yes I am. It says so right there!" she retorted, motioning to her paper.

"Look again. You have the wrong tubes, ursuratonkachi," he shot back.

"They're right, and don't call me that! Now stop bothering me so I can get this damn lab done!" she said, pushing him away. Quickly, she mixed the two chemicals together and began to swirl them together.

_Don't blame me if it blows up in your face,_ he thought as he turned back to his own tubes. Inwardly, he wished it would, just so he could see the obnoxious girl's reaction. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to watch for any changes in the solution.

Naruko looked back at the paper, then at the labels of the chemicals she'd just mixed. Her eyes widened as she realized Sasuke-teme was right, and started panicking in her mind about whether or not it would blow up in her face. She bet Sasuke wanted it to, as she noticed him glancing over at her for any changes. She stuck out her tongue out at him, and looked back at her new solution again.

**Nice job, baka. You just love to suck at life, don't you?** Great. It was back. Yippee…

_Shut up. I just misread it!_

She looked at the tube. Nothing seemed to be changing much.

**Yeah. But did anyone say anything about whether or not the chemicals were dangerous to mix? I don't think so.**

_Well it's not doing much now_. She couldn't keep a bit of nervousness from that thought. Even if she could, the voice would know it. It's cold cackle of laughter broke out in her skull and resonated in her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shut it out, but that only made it seem to echo louder. Opening them again, she sighed as it began to die off. She looked at the tube once more.

She was really starting to worry about whether it would blow up or something. Hopefully Anko-sensei wasn't so crazy that she would give them chemicals without telling them they were dangerous to mix improperly like the voice had suggested…hopefully. Finally the solution began to mix and form a color. Naruko stared in wonder, and Sasuke caught himself staring as well. The mixture had become rainbow colored.

"Nice job, Uzumaki," Anko said, appearing behind the teen to inspect the mixture. "What'd you mix?"

Naruko pointed to the labels she'd used. Anko wrote them on her notebook with a curt nod.

"Didn't know that could happen. Extra credit," she added. "Don't do it again though. If those were stronger chemicals, you probably could have blown the school up. Read the directions next time."

"Hai, Anko-sensei," Naruko said, a bit relieved. The teacher walked on, criticizing a student here and there. The blonde continued on in her work with more caution, reading each direction a couple times over before moving on to go through with it. Sasuke glared at her. How dare she be able to get credit for something so simple, that it took a very talented person to screw up. She noticed Sasuke's glare and threw him a smirk. He turned back to his work with a scowl. Baka dobe…

* * *

"Konichiwa Dei-chan!" Naruko called out as she entered the office. It was a Tuesday after school hours, and the blonde secretary was finishing the paperwork for the day. Naruko looked at the secretary and saw the barely concealed bags under the man's eyes.

"Hey chibi. Aren't you supposed to be home now?" he asked, never taking his eyes from the computer screen.

"Yeah, but I told mom that I'm visiting Tsunade-baasan," she replied, taking a seat behind the counter with the man.

"Then what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What? I can't visit you anymore Dei-chan?" she said with a pout. He laughed at her cuteness.

"I didn't say that. Just wanted to know why you suddenly felt like visiting little old me," he replied.

"Well, I thought you looked like you needed a smile. You look so worn out. Has anything happened?" she asked, voicing her concern.

"Aa, just a lot of work with transfer students and schedule screw ups. Happens every year," he told her with a small smile, hoping to sound sincere. In truth, Itachi had yet to talk to him again, and he was worrying more than ever now. He really shouldn't have stormed out like that. Of course he wouldn't have wanted to talk about it yet…

"Deidara-chan?"

"Huh?" he said, snapping back to the present.

"You spaced out for a minute," she told him.

"Oh..."

"…Is it something with Itachi-san?" she asked. Deidara froze. He slowly turned back to his monitor with a pained smile.

"We…got into a—small fight. I said some things I shouldn't have, and I wanted him to apologize to me for something he didn't do…" he explained. "We haven't spoken in almost two weeks."

"I'm sorry," Naruko said quietly, hugging the man. He patted the girl's head.

"It's alright. I've made up my mind to see him again this weekend if he hasn't come by then," he said. He chuckled a little. "With his Uchiha pride, I'm sure I'll have to be the one to go to him."

"Okay. I hope everything goes well with that then," Naruko said cheerfully. "Now I really do need to go see obaa-san, or she'll tattle on me to mom."

"Haha, alright chibi. See you around," the blonde man called as the girl skipped out of the room. She waved happily at the man and took off down the hallway. Deidara sighed and slumped in his chair with a hand over his closed eyes and a grin on his lips. Somehow, that girl really had a way of giving others confidence and putting a smile on their face.

* * *

"Konichiwa obaa-san!!" Naruto yelled as he entered the nurse's office, much like he had when he'd said hello to Deidara. A thick medical book came flying out of nowhere, connecting with the boy's head and knocking him over. Suddenly a very angry, and barely concealing it, Tsunade appeared over him.

"What have I told you about calling me that, brat," she growled.

"Aww, come on obaa-san! You know I don't mean it!" he whined.

"Yes you do, so stop it or I'll throw something even heavier at you," she threatened. She would do it too. You know how people get a rush of energy in a dire situation and are able to pick up a car? Well, he'd seen her pick one up when she was perfectly calm…when it had three people in it. He knew she wasn't afraid to use her strength if needed. She sat at her desk and began to rearrange papers in a folder.

"So what'd you want, brat?" she asked.

"Umm…nothing really. Just felt like popping in to say hello," he replied with a shrug. "And to say that…I'm…not going to be here on Thursday." She paused in her work for a second before continuing on.

"Go home right after school tomorrow, then. You know what'll happen if you don't," she said. He nodded solemnly and brushed his fingers over his whisker scars gently. It was a habit when someone hinted at that day. "I'll go with you on Thursday. I know your mom doesn't like to go, and I haven't gone to visit in such a long time."

"Thanks," Naruto said with a smile. He glanced up at the clock, sighed, and stood slowly. Tsunade threw him a questioning look over her papers. "Mom wants me home at four."

The woman nodded understandingly and stood as well.

"I'll drive you home so you're not running there. I don't really have much work left. I'll ask Shizune to finish it up for me. I know she won't mind," she said, stretching a bit. Naruto raised a brow with a smirk.

"You just want to dump all the work on her instead of doing it yourself, don't you?" he said slyly.

"Who asked you, brat?" she growled, slapping him upside the head as she walked past him to the door. He laughed, knowing he was right. They snuck out of the building, in case the brunette woman was wandering around the halls, so she wouldn't catch the slacking blonde. Poor, poor Shizune…

* * *

**A/N:** Hello again. Sorry this took even longer than last time…it did take longer, right? …yeah. Well, it's done now, so here you go. Just to let you know, I haven't had chemistry yet in my school career so it's safe to say I have no idea what I was talking about at that part. I just thought that would be pretty freakin' amazing if you could do that, so I put it in. And don't worry, you'll find out what they were talking about in that last part next chappie. It'll explain some more things about little Naru's past! Fun stuff there. Anywhos, I really hope you liked it. I'm very pleased with the response to this story so far. Please review, it means a lot. Trust me, if more review, it puts me on a guilt trip to hold off making the next chapter. Therefore, it will be done faster. So the moral of that story is…review!! Please and thank you! 


	4. Chapter 4

Wednesday. Hump day. The middle of the week. The beginning of the end of the week. No matter how you put it, it was still just another day you had to go to school. Naruto sighed as he pulled up the second half of his long hair. He really wished he could just cut it. He'd had it all planned out in his head for years now. If his mom ever let him go back to being a boy, he could go out and get his hair cut short, buy a whole bunch of guy clothes, and then transfer to another school. Then he wouldn't have to deal with all the questions and disgusted looks he'd get from his peers. He smiled at the thought of returning to his old self. Maybe his mom wouldn't take it as bad as she had before.

But this thought made him frown. No…she probably would. What he told Tsunade about her getting better wasn't all that true. If anything, it was getting worse. If Naruto even hinted towards it now, she'd have a mini-panic attack until he reassured her that he was really a girl, and that he would never change. He hated it, but he couldn't stand to do that to his mother. And he couldn't just run away either. He knew she didn't want to lose another precious person in her life. He was all she had left, even if she did think he was truly a girl now.

He walked downstairs to the kitchen, smelling the aroma of freshly cooked pancakes. That was a rarity. He wondered what the occasion was. He sat at the table and saw his mother busily washing the pans she'd used to make the fluffy pancakes in. His eyes traveled to the extra plate set out and remembered why it was there.

"Morning mom," he said with a forced cheeriness. She smiled at him, bags under her eyes. She'd probably been having a hard time with tomorrow coming up.

"Good morning Naruko. Hurry up and eat your pancakes," she said. She looked towards the hallway entrance and then said dreamily, "Goodness. Arashi better hurry down here, or his breakfast will get cold."

"You know he's always been a late sleeper mom," Naruto added, hoping to make her feel better by playing along.

"Yes, yes, I know honey," she said. She looked at the dish she was cleaning, glanced at the doorway, and repeated the motion once more before sighing. "I still wish he'd get up sooner. I made his favorite this morning after all."

Naruto only gave his mother a reassuring smile after finishing his breakfast quickly. He grabbed his backpack and headed for the door. "I'm going to school mom!"

"Have a nice day honey," she called back.

* * *

Chemistry again. Let's check…nope, still none between the pair. Guess that means they're still a potential hazard to their fellow students. Luckily today was a lecture day, so no more dealing with dangerous chemicals at the moment. Naruko was busy scribbling down notes while Sasuke was off thinking about some non-science related things. With the intensity of her scribbles increasing, Naruko's pencil flew from her hand and hit the raven-haired boy's shoulder. Sapphire orbs moved slowly from Sasuke to where the pencil had landed on the desk, as if waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, so she picked up her pencil and whispered, "Gomen."

His response was nothing more than a sidelong glance and a soft "hn", but it was less than she'd expected. She thought he would throw her an insult or a snide comment in the least. Shrugging it off, she decided not to think about it until later. After class she tapped him on the shoulder before he left.

"What dobe?" he asked, impatient to get to his next class. Hearing the insult she thought she shouldn't have bothered asking and glared at him.

"Nothing. I was gonna ask if you were alright, but since you're still acting like a teme, you probably are," she said, turning on heel to walk out of the room before he could respond. She walked in a huff all the way to her locker and then the roof with her lunch in hand.

"H-hello Naruko-chan," Hinata greeted. In fear of taking all of her ranting out of the poor quiet girl, Naruko opted to simply nod in response, and wait for her chatterbox friends to arrive. Sitting with her legs crossed, she jiggled her leg up and down in impatience. She didn't have to wait very long for them to arrive, but both were preoccupied with their new favorite topic, Sasuke-kun. Exactly the thing she wanted to rant negatively about. Great.

"It's obvious he's more into blondes Sakura," Ino said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. "He'd never go for your fake-o dye job in a million years. I mean, really. Pink? Come on."

"Fake-o dye job? What the hell Ino?" Sakura said with a glare. "You've known me all your life and you still refuse to accept that this is my natural color?"

"How could I accept that as a truth when it's not even possible for someone to have naturally pink hair?" Ino stated.

"Because it is true. Just because you've never seen anyone with natural pink hair before, doesn't mean it's not possible, you dunce," Sakura shot back. Naruko frowned as she heard this, and her dislike of Sasuke grew as the argument went on. She'd never heard her two friends fight like this in her life. It was kind of…scary. She felt her anger flare up again. How dare that pompous jerk come waltzing in and tear her two best friends apart without even being aware of it.

"And at least I'm as smart as he is," Sakura said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think he's looking for that? What good are smarts when it comes to a man?"

"At least we'd be able to have an intelligent conversation without being held down by trivial things."

"Whatever. You know guys go for the girls with more sex appeal anyway. And look at you, your chest is flat as a board!"

"Well I don't stuff my bras, unlike someone, now do I?"

"Billboard brow!"

"Pig!"

"Ugh! I can't stand you anymore. I'm going to eat somewhere else. Don't even bother trying to talk to me in class," Ino shouted with a last glare.

"Fine!" Sakura responded before adding, "pig!"

"Billboard brow!" Ino screamed back. And with that, their blond friend had slammed the roof door shut. They could hear the faint stomping footsteps getting further and further away. A heavy silence set in among the three females that remained. Sakura took a large bite of her apple and glared angrily at the ground. Naruko and Hinata glanced at each other and continued eating their lunch. Neither knew what to say or if they should ask about it. Silently, they decided to wait until the pair had cooled off some before discussing it with them. Surely a boy couldn't end their friendship forever…right?

* * *

"Mom? I'm home," he called out in the dark house. It was always dark when he came home on this day. He removed his shoes and set his bag down. School had been even worse after the fiasco at lunch, and the day wasn't going to be getting any better. Slowly, he entered the living room to see his mother crying over the picture of his father once again. Bracing himself, he called out again. "Mom?"

She turned and looked at him with wide eyes, red from crying. She latched herself onto her 'daughter' and began sobbing more. It was just like every year since that day.

"Oh Naruto…Naruto…" she mumbled between sobs. The only day she ever called him by his real name. "You're back! You're back, you're okay, oh my baby!"

"Yeah mom. I'm back. I'm okay," he told her. She was reliving the past. Every year she broke down and re-lived that day. The day Arashi died saving Naruto from his killer. As if she'd suddenly thought of it, she began to look around frantically.

"Where's your father Naruto?" she asked. She looked at him with desperation. "Where is he? Where's Arashi?!"

"He died mom," Naruto replied painfully. Tears were streaming down his face now as he gripped his mother to return her hug. She always managed to pull him into the past as well. "He got killed."

"No! He's not dead!" she screamed. She tried to run past him, pointing to a specter behind Naruto that only she could ever see. A crazed grin was on her face as she stared at the hallucination. "He's right there. He's not dead Naruto! He's back! He's back, and he's not dead…!"

Naruto didn't say anything as she broke down sobbing once more, mumbling to herself. He only held her tighter and cried along with her.

"He's gone…he's gone…" she mumbled. As her crying fit passed, she stood suddenly. "Gotta keep him safe." She gripped Naruto's wrist tightly. He winced but he didn't complain, as he'd felt worse before. She pulled him to his room and threw him inside.

"Mom? What are you doing?" he asked, confused. She'd never done this before. She slammed the door closed and locked it from the outside. "Mom!"

"You're not leaving me Naruto, I've got to keep you safe!" she said, the grin back on her face. "I won't let anyone take you away from me! Not again!"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. There was no arguing with her in this state. He heard her receding footsteps and sighed. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck in there. He never thought she'd do this before, but no one could really predict what she'd do on this day. He walked to his bed feeling drained already and lay down on top of the covers. He had nothing else to do, so why not sleep for a while?

He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down after all that. It took a while, but eventually he drifted off into a comfortable sleep.

_He ran as fast as he could through the house. He didn't know where he was or where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get out!_

_"Naru-chan! I've got something for you!" a voice called. A medley began to play on a piano that was nowhere to be found. It seemed ubiquitous, coming from every hall and doorway he passed. Where could he escape? Where could he find an exit?! He heard footsteps coming toward him. He had to hide!_

_He found himself in the kitchen, and saw an open cupboard. It looked empty enough to fit him, so he stuffed himself into it, closing the door. The footsteps entered the room and slowed significantly, as though they sensed their prey was near._

_"Oh Naru-chaaan!" the eerie voice called again. His breath came in ragged tuffs, and he hugged himself in hopes that it would stop the shaking. His heartbeat sounded like it was being amplified a thousand times louder. Surely the man would hear it and find him. He couldn't hear any more footsteps._

_"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the voice said, as the owner wrenched the cupboard door open with a maniacal grin._

Naruto woke up screaming, his eyes wide with fear and his body drenched in a sheen cold sweat. He squeezed his eyes shut and slowed his breath until his heartbeat was at a normal pace again. That damn dream…

He hated having it, because no matter how far it got, it never finished. He would always wake up frightened and then remember _every fucking detail_ after it. Each time it was so clear. The feelings, the adrenaline, the _pain_.

That man, that…_monster_…had kidnapped him as a way to get to his father. Arashi had been a one of the best in the police force and was able to catch almost any criminal. He'd gotten too close to catching the serial killer Snake, and Naruto had been kidnapped to lead the man into a trap. And it had worked…

After he'd been found in the cupboard, the killer had tied him to a chair. That was only the first day Naruto was there, and each day it took for his father to crack the code given and find his son, the killer would cut his cheek. It had taken six days to find him, and he'd suffered more than just those six cuts in that span of time.

When Arashi had finally arrived, Snake had been waiting with a loaded gun and shot the man six times. Three times in the chest, once in the leg, and twice in the head. His aunt Tsunade and Jiraiya, a family friend, who were also part of the police force, had been there as well, throwing Snake's plans off and resulting in a fight between all of them. Naruto didn't quite know what happened, but the killer had been set on fire, and disappeared. It was assumed that he died, but no one really knew. They never found his body. Snake had disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace to be found.

Naruto had been taken to the hospital and put in therapy sessions in hopes to put the traumatic incident behind him. It had worked for the most part, though his mother pulled him out of them. She had wanted him around her more now that she finally had him back. But even though he was able to block most of his memories, he could still remember that song.

The voice in his head had appeared then as well. There were parts of his kidnapping that he couldn't remember no matter what, where he'd just blacked out from nothing. But when he'd been in the killer's clutches, it'd kept him company and soothed his fears. It didn't do that anymore though. That was why he needed the medication for it.

He looked at the clock and saw it was almost eleven. He got up and found that the door was still locked. Looking over, he saw that his mother had left him dinner on a tray. He smiled a little. At least she wasn't forgetting about him. He took the tray and ate the food without much thought, and then placed it back where he'd found it. He sighed as he tried to rid his mind of any more memories trying to poke their way to the surface. He'd have to find something to do to keep him mind off the subject. There was no way he'd be able to sleep again tonight.

* * *

Sasuke grunted as he was hit in the stomach again, flying backwards and tumbling to the ground. His sparring partner was Itachi at the moment. They both needed a little stress relief, and if beating each other up would do it, then they'd go for it. He stood up again and readied himself before charging in again.

He was getting frustrated with his brother's attitude nowadays. He'd seen Deidara, and felt bad for the man. He knew the blonde would come back and apologize, even if he didn't need to just because Itachi wouldn't. And Itachi had been completely ignoring Sasuke as well. Sure he may have work to do, but he could make time for his brother, couldn't he?

Glancing at his brother's face, he saw only a distracted, uncaring expression. Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. His brother wouldn't even take him seriously in a fight! He was losing when Itachi wasn't even paying attention! He shouldn't be this weak. He had to get stronger. He wanted revenge. And if he was going to get revenge, he needed to be strong and join the police force along with his brother.

"Don't go easy on me Itachi," he growled. The man's eyes locked with his, cold and emotionless, as they were every fight. Suddenly, he found himself flying across the room again. He looked up to see Itachi in front of him.

"Don't ask for what you can't handle little brother. Give up on trying to be in the police force. You'd never be able to make it," he said. Sasuke glared at his backside as he left without another word. He always said that at the end of every match.

Why would he say it though? He knew what that monster had done to their family! Sasuke had seen their dead bodies with his own eyes! And he was still out there, out of reach of the police in a place where he wouldn't be detected. Sasuke wanted revenge on that monster. He wanted revenge against Snake…the man that had taken everything from him.

* * *

**A/N:** So another chapter's done. Not too long after the last either! That makes me happy. But I must say, I got a bit stuck. I'm finding it really hard to write Sasuke's part. He needs to be mad at the world, but social enough to compete with Naruto. I'm sorry if his character's coming out a bit weirdly. I'll try to make it better as this goes along though. It feels so rushed too...poo. It's like the first chapter. I don't really like it, but I can't think of how to change it. But anyway, thank you so much for the reviews guys! I'm very happy that people really like this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it and tell me what you think! I love constructive criticism and just plain old reviews. Don't care if you flame, for they will be used to burn homework and possible make s'mores… Please and thank you! 


	5. Chapter 5

Tsunade walked up the short path to the doorway. It had been a long day, and it was only half over. Naruto hadn't been at school and it worried her, but she knew if he weren't there, he'd be safe at home. Or as safe as he could be with his mother still recovering from the trauma, even now.

She didn't like the woman all that much anymore. They had been friends long before she, Yumi, had married Arashi. Tsunade knew how much her friend had wanted a little girl, but thought replacing Naruto with a female version of himself was a bit extreme, even if it helped her cope with the loss. She wanted Naruto to be what he wanted to be, and not have to play whatever illusion his mother wanted him to play. She would have talked about it to Yumi already, but she could tell the woman was still fragile. And the frangibility of the woman was also what drew the line of sanity around her mind. She was sure she didn't want to find out what that woman would do to Naruto now, and ever since she learned that Snake was back…

She clenched her fists and frowned as she stopped in front of the door. The moment she learned this information, one question had been running through her mind. How the hell is he still alive?

Yumi would have to know about the killer's return, of course. It frightened her a little to know she couldn't predict Yumi's reaction to the news. Anxiously she knocked on the door, knowing that the woman didn't leave the house much anyway. She waited, tapping her foot until the door opened slightly, revealing a fraction of Yumi's face and body. She smiled at blonde, but didn't open it any further.

"Hello Tsunade-chan. What brings you here? I thought you had work today," she said.

"School's over for the day. It's already after 3:00. Is Naruto-kun here?" Tsunade asked, the boy's real name slipping off her tongue all too easily. Yumi stiffened and her eyes became wide.

"Who?" she breathed.

"Ah, sorry. I meant Naruko-chan, Yumi-san. Is she here?" Tsunade asked. "I wanted to spend some time with her today."

"No…she can't come out today. She's sick. I'm sorry Tsunade-chan," Yumi replied. "Maybe another time."

They stared at each other for a while. The blonde knew she wouldn't get anything else from the woman. Naruto had seemed fine yesterday, but maybe some built up stress had given him a cold over night…

"…Alright. I hope she gets better soon," she said. "Bye Yumi-san."

"Thank you for visiting. Good bye for now," the woman replied, closing the door. It never once opened more than that crack the entire conversation. Tsunade walked back to her car with a troubled mind. Hopefully Naruto was really just sick like Yumi had said.

* * *

Deidara sighed as he stood before the door of his the Uchiha household. He'd come all this way, determined to make up with the man, but couldn't find the courage to knock. The moment he'd been able to see the house his confidence drained out of him until nearly none was left. It took almost all he had not to just run away for another day. He had to do this. He _needed_ to.

The blonde took in a quivering breath to calm himself before finally raising his hand to knock on the door. Unexpectedly, when he expected to hear the sharp rapping of wood and feel the hard surface he was tapping with his knuckles, the impact of his fist was on the softer material of a strong chest covered in clothing. He gasped and blue eyes met cool crimson. They held each other's gaze and Deidara bit his lip hard, trying his best not to fling himself upon the man and cry out his apologies.

"I…" Itachi said, stopping himself abruptly. He searched the blonde's face before looking away and stepping to the side. "Make yourself comfortable. I have something I need to finish so do not bother me."

"Ah…yeah. Thanks," Deidara replied nervously. He slipped in past the taller man and removed his shoes. Itachi moved into the study and Deidara followed with his eyes never leaving the man, only because he was afraid that if he looked away, his last nerve to do this would be lost. He hadn't turned him out, so maybe he wasn't too angry.

The raven took his seat at the desk again, returning immediately to the files that lay open upon it. He looked at them intently, though his mind would not focus. He had wanted to take a break from his work, but this seemed as good an excuse as any to be near the blonde again if he was willing to stay.

Deidara fidgeted in the armchair across the room as his eyes glanced around the room. He still hadn't exactly gotten a tour of the home, and so took the moment of awkward silence to take in his surroundings. The small room looked as though it had been turned into a library with bookcases covering almost all-available wall space. In the middle of the wall behind Itachi was a large portrait of the Uchiha family. In it, Itachi was still young and Sasuke was younger still. Itachi smiled more easily then and would tease his brother as much as possible in affectionate gestures. Sasuke was forcing a smile in it. Deidara could tell the younger boy was suppressing a glare directed at Itachi for the hand that had ruffled his hair the second before the portrait was taken. He smiled at the image causing the older male to glance at him.

"What's that for?" he asked gruffly, trying his best to sound uncaring and distant. This knocked the blonde from his thoughts and brought his vision to Itachi. He gave an apologetic, melancholic smile and his gaze softened as their eyes met once again.

"I was just thinking about before," Deidara said, turning back to the portrait. "You used to smile so much easier then."

"…" Another silence passed between them, though not as long this time.

"I'm…sorry," Deidara started hesitantly. He looked down at his lap, and didn't notice the raven stand and walk to him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I shouldn't have even said anything about it. Damn it…I'm so _stupid_…"

The blonde gasped as Itachi pulled him up into an embrace. Tears that had been held back now spilled over and flowed freely down his cheeks. He clutched the fabric of the man's shirt and buried his face into his shoulder, chanting his apologies over and over. Itachi squeezed the blonde tighter, rubbing his back soothingly and whispered forgiveness softly in his ear. He saw the dark circles under the blonde's eyes and knew how much this troubled him. He deserved nothing less than forgiveness, no matter if he had done anything wrong or not. The sobbing slowed gradually until he only hiccupped slightly. Itachi rested his forehead against Deidara's, their lips only centimeters from each other's.

"You are forgiven," he said slowly. He closed the small distance between them and captured Deidara's lips before he could rant even more unnecessary apologies. It was soft and sweet, and Itachi had pulled away before Deidara knew it. "There is no reason you shouldn't be. I've been under a lot of stress lately, so you'll have to excuse me for snapping so rudely."

He wiped the tears from the blonde's face. Deidara knew that was the closest he'd get Itachi to saying he was sorry, and reveled in the caring words.

"I know. I've been such a burden by giving you more stress than you need. I'm really sorry, un," he said, slipping his childish phrase in to show his sincerity. "Just don't push me away anymore. It hurts to be away from you, when you won't tell me things."

"I won't. I promise I'd rather have you by my side than away from me," Itachi replied. Deidara felt so relieved now that he was near Itachi again. Hearing this made him smile.

"Good. Then can I ask you something?" he said.

"Other than the question you asked just now, yes you may," Itachi replied with a playful smirk.

"Can we do it?" asked Deidara. Itachi raised an eyebrow. _Blunt as ever I see_.

"If you want. I think I can spare the time," he answered. Deidara giggled, seeming as though he hadn't just cried his eyes out earlier. Itachi walked past him and started to lead the way to the bedroom. Before he could exit the study, Deidara had him in another hug from behind.

"Aishiteru 'Tachi-kun," he whispered into the man's back. Itachi intertwined his fingers with his lover's and continued to lead him to the bedroom.

"Aishiteru," he replied over his shoulder. The blonde smiled, a blush dancing across his cheeks. Things were better now. They'd finally made up, and he was with Itachi again. He hoped they wouldn't fight again, but every couple fights occasionally. For now he wouldn't think of the future. He was happy with the present, and he would try to keep things this way as long as he could.

* * *

Sasuke was early, as usual, to avoid the rabid fangirls that normally flocked to him. He never understood them, and didn't really want to take the time to. So he just avoided them as much as possible. The classroom eventually filled with students, the bell rang, and class began. Everything seemed right, but Sasuke knew something was missing. It'd been too quiet for the past week, and he hadn't taken much thought about it until today. He saw Umino-sensei's concerned looks being thrown at the seat near him, and then he knew. It was because Naruko wasn't there.

Thinking back, he hadn't seen the annoying girl since last Thursday maybe. But it's not like it was something that important. Maybe the dobe had finally dropped out, or been suspended, or something of the like. She didn't seem like she was doing very well in her classes anyway, and she always looked ready for a fight. He didn't know, but then again, why should he care?

Periods passed, and lunch came. He sat in his usual spot at a table in the far corner. He nodded to the red haired boy who was already there, as always, reading a book and eating his own lunch.

"Subaku," he said.

"Uchiha," the other responded, nodding back. The two had come to tolerate each other, accepting the other's presence and silence. There was a third one, Neji, who sat with them at times, but spent most of his time working with the student council. For the most part they only acknowledged each other's presence and then went on their merry way. They didn't say 'hello' to each other outside of the cafeteria, nor did they ever initiate conversations. Or at least they didn't with Sasuke. Neji and Gaara would talk sometimes, but never for too long. And it was the same today as any other day. Or so Sasuke thought.

He ate his lunch as usual, packed and made by Deidara, seeing as he was staying over enough now to do so. He was glad Itachi was with the happy blonde again, but that didn't mean he was paying any more attention to his little brother. He was nearly done when he noticed Gaara looking at him. The boy had stopped eating and had a contemplative look on his face.

"Uchiha," he spoke suddenly.

"Yes?"

"Uzumaki is in your class correct?" he asked. Sasuke nodded, not seeing where this was going. He didn't know the annoying dobe talked to the quiet emo kid he sat with. "Has she not come back yet?"

"I haven't seen her for a while. I don't know what happened," Sasuke replied. Gaara nodded and snapped his book shut before standing.

"Excuse me, I have business," he said, walking away to leave the raven by himself. A few girls looked over hopefully at whether or not they could take the red head's place. He glared at them and they backed off a little. None approached, but he knew they wanted to. He turned back to his lunch with little interest in finishing the remains. Why was everyone so concerned about that annoying girl?

"Hn. Whatever."

* * *

"Hey Hinata-chan," Sakura said as she walked through the doors leading to the roof. Said girl was leaning against the railing, greeting her with a smile.

"Konichiwa S-Sakura-chan," she said. She was learning to control her stuttering more around the girl as she became more comfortable being near the pinkette. Sakura sat beside her, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a large yawn.

"Man, that project took a lot out of me. Plus all the studying I've been doing for all my other classes," she commented. "I wish there were more hours in a day. Maybe then I could get more work done…"

"D-don't push yourself too hard Sakura-chan. You'll catch a cold if you put too much stress on yourself," Hinata said. Sakura smiled.

"True," she said, and then frowned. "By the way, where do you suppose Naruko-chan is? I haven't seen her for maybe a week or so now."

"I don't know. M-maybe she has the flu," replied the other girl.

"That's what I was thinking…but I've tried calling her cell, and she won't pick up. Same with her house phone," Sakura said. "Her mom picked up and said Naruko-chan wasn't able to answer the phone."

"T-then she probably is sick, Sakura-chan," Hinata told her.

"I don't know…" Sakura said. She frowned. "Maybe she's out with that Ino-pig! That would explain why she isn't here! Because Ino-pig told her not to talk to me, or something like that! You know how gullible Naruko-chan can be."

"But y-you said you all have gym t-together, right? Wouldn't you have seen her there?" Hinata asked.

"Ah…right. You're right, I would have seen her there."

"B-besides," Hinata continued, "I don't think N-Naruko-chan is the type of person to abandon one of her friends in favor of another j-just because one says she should." Sakura let her head fall back against the railing, looking up at the blue sky above.

"I guess you're right. I'm still worried about her though," she said. "I guess I'll try calling her again today after school." She glanced at Hinata and gave her a small smile, which the blue-haired girl returned.

"Let's eat, okay?" Sakura said, breaking the tension. Hinata nodded in agreement.

* * *

His mom was out, and he'd been kicking at the door for a while now. The damn thing just wouldn't _open_! He couldn't even pick the lock either. He didn't quite know how long he'd been there since he was sleeping at odd intervals now, but he was guessing at least a week. Sure he had a bathroom connected to his room, and his mom sent him food when he wasn't awake or he was in the bathroom, but he felt so claustrophobic now. The situation reminded him so much of being held hostage by Snake now, that he was ready to have his own panic attacks.

When he was tied to that chair in Snake's hiding place, the room had no windows. Most of the time he was kept in the dark anyway. At least his room had a window, and he could turn the lights on at anytime. That helped him stay calmer than he would have been without them.

Even so, he needed to get out of there. He couldn't stand staying in here much longer. So far he hadn't gotten to talk to his mom very much, so he never had a chance to ask her to let him out. He didn't even have anything near his window to climb out on! Someone had to unlock his door for him to get out. His room didn't have a phone, and his cell phone was in the living room unfortunately, so he wasn't able to call anyone to help him out. Naruto turned around and slid to the ground with his back against the door. He sighed heavily and looked around his room lethargically. What could he do if he couldn't do anything?

A faint 'thump' came from inside the house and made Naruto freeze. His mom shouldn't be home yet, so…who could be in the house? Holding his breath, he pressed his ear against the door in hopes of hearing better. Footsteps came up the stairs and he could hear the coming closer and closer to his door. This was seriously freaking him out now. His mom should have locked the door when she left…

"Naruto."

The blonde's eyes widened, recognizing the voice immediately. "Tsunade-obaasan!" he said, surprised. "Wha…How'd you get in?"

"I know where your extra keys are, brat," the woman replied. "Now just wait a second and I'll have the door unlocked."

Naruto moved away from the door, and soon enough it opened like she said. Naruto hugged her tightly, and she hugged him back. "Come on. Get dressed and we'll go out. You seem like you need some fresh air."

Naruto grinned and nodded. He pulled on a pair of jeans, a bra (out of sheer habit), a light blue blouse, and a pair of sneakers. He looked just like the girl he usually did, though he pulled his hair into a single ponytail today. Tsunade gave a small smile and Naruto shrugged, returning the smile. They were going out, and he was used to dressing this way when he went out.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this took a lot longer than before. A bit of writer's block plus schoolwork kept me from writing this. I don't really have much to say except that I really hope everyone likes this. I don't, but then again, I never really do…I can say that it's getting more fun to write though. More stuffs going to start happening, and I'm going to love writing it. Anyway, please review. Flames are accepted and once again used as a way to burn homework…or make s'mores.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto...still not worthy enough...


	6. Chapter 6

"So where are we going Tsunade-obaasan?" Naruto asked. They were in Tsunade's car now, driving slowly through the town. Music played softly in the background from the radio. The older woman had yet to tell him where they were going, and she didn't seem to want to tell him just yet.

"You'll see when we get there, brat," she replied. Naruto pouted. He never liked being left out of the loop. Not long after, they stopped and got out. Tsunade went around to the trunk to get something out while Naruto looked at where they were. They were at the cemetery. Tsunade returned with flowers, and handed some to him.

"I thought you might want to visit him since we missed it last week," she told him. He nodded with a sad smile. They walked in and headed to Arashi's grave stood. There was a small silence before Tsunade spoke.

"Has Yumi-san let you out at all since then?" she asked on their way.

"She…no. She just wanted to protect me, so she locked me in my room. She's still feeding me, and she'll tell me when she's going out. So it's not like she's forgetting me or anything," Naruto replied.

"It's still not healthy Naruto-kun. You need to get outside. You need to go to school too," she said. "Your friends have come to see me a couple times to ask how you were. Even that Subaku boy has. They're all worried about you."

"I know…but it's not my choice to stay home. I would go if I could, and if anything, I'd rather be at school all day than at home with mom," he said with a frown. He slapped his hand on his head and frowned even more. "That was a horrible thing to say."

"You have a reason to say it," Tsunade said. "You're the one who's put up with her the most after…all that. You're the one she's messing with to keep herself sane, and it isn't fair."

"But I owe it to mom," he replied as they stopped in front of a gray stone. He placed the flowers in a vase already filled with new water by the grounds keepers. His eyelids drooped as he stared at the grave. "I'm the reason he's dead. I'm the reason she has to go through all this. Because if it weren't for me, Snake wouldn't have killed him when he was trying to save me."

Tsunade sighed and stared at the grave sadly in silence. She could have told him a thousand times that it wasn't his fault for his father's death, and he would still think it was. Silence engulfed them again, each lost in their own thoughts. A breeze blew softly, sending a chill up Naruto's spine. It was beginning to get colder now. Fall was almost in full swing, and winter would come soon after.

"There's something I should tell you," Tsunade started quietly. "I doubt Yumi-san would have already told you that-"

"Ah…that's Deidara-kun!" Naruto said, not paying attention to the important message his aunt wanted to give him. "I'm going to say hi, okay obaa-san?"

* * *

She ran off without waiting for her reply. She saw two other figures with the blonde man, and figured the taller one next to him was Itachi-san. She knew Itachi didn't live too far away, but this would be the first time she'd seen the blonde's boyfriend. 

"Deidara-kuuun!" she called as he neared the little group. The older man turned, as well as the other two (though the shorter one seemed to be uninterested in the new voice), and his face brightened as he saw Naruko.

"Naruko-chan! Good to see you!" he said with a grin. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sick."

"I was," she replied, slipping into her excuse easily. "I'm feeling better now though, and I hope I'll be able to go back to school tomorrow."

"That's great," Deidara replied. "Oh! How rude of me, I forgot. This is 'Tachi-kun."

"Nice to meet you," the dark haired man said, shaking Naruko's hand.

"And this is Sasuke-kun, but you should know him already," Deidara said, motioning to the other. Eyes met and sparks flew as the two recognized each other with slight shock keeping them silent for only seconds. "Guys, this is-"

"You know this teme?!"

"You know this dobe?!"

Both shouted as the shock wore off. They glared hard at each other and Deidara sweat dropped at the tension between the two. "Uhm…h-hai. I take it you two aren't too fond of each other."

"Like hell I'm fond of him, he's such a precocious bastard!" Naruko growled. Itachi smirked at this.

"You finally managed to find a girl not completely obsessed with you, Sasuke. I'm impressed," he said. "I like you, girl. What's your name?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruko," she replied happily to him before returning to glaring at Sasuke who happened to be gaping at his brother. Itachi just smirked more.

"So what are you and Dei-chan doing here?" Naruko asked.

"None of your business, dobe," Sasuke answered quickly, seeming very sore about the subject. Naruko narrowed her eyes at the boy, who returned the look. Itachi jabbed his brother with his elbow as a sign that he should be more polite. _Like hell I'll be polite to this dobe._

"Just paying our respects to our family," Itachi told her.

"Ooh. That's right. Dei-chan mentioned something about your family's death. I'm sorry for your loss," she said.

"We're getting by."

"Why are you here Naruko? I thought you would've come last week," Deidara said.

"She would have, but the brat was sick, remember?" Tsunade said, finally joining the group. Naruko grinned at her aunt.

"Yeah. Obaa-san said she'd take me today since I couldn't come last week," she said.

"Hn. I thought we were leaving Itachi," Sasuke said, tired of being ignored and discarded. Why does everyone find that girl so interesting? He threw her another glare, which she stuck her tongue out at.

"Alright. Since Sasuke seems so eager to leave, I guess we shall be on our way then," Itachi said.

"Why don't we all go out for a little something to eat? We were leaving as well, and if you don't have anything to do now…" Tsunade suggested, ignoring the protest from the younger blonde girl. She was well aware of her dislike for Sasuke and his own contempt for her. She knew what happened to the Uchiha family from a friend still working in the police force, and felt that they should be friends rather than enemies. They had more in common than they thought.

"Well we were actually-"

"We were going to be going around the town together, but Sasuke isn't doing anything today. Isn't that right?" Itachi said, cutting Deidara off. He knew what Tsunade was up to, having recognized her from his files. "He would be glad to join you. We would as well, but we have previously planned matters to attend to now."

"Aa…right. You're not doing anything now, are you? Going with them would be better than cooping yourself up in the house all day," Deidara added, catching on.

"No, I'm not doing anything, but that doesn't mean-"

"Then it's settled, Sasuke will come with us and then we'll send him on home when we're done," Tsunade replied, ignoring Sasuke and Naruko's complaints to the agreement made between the adults.

"Yes. If we're not home by then, you have a key to get in," Itachi told his brother as he began to walk away. Deidara gave him a grin and waved to the trio.

"Bye. Have fun," he called. And before Sasuke could really react, he was alone with his school nurse and his annoying female classmate. Oh joy…

* * *

"Itadakimasu!" 

Naruko quickly dug into her bowl of ramen. Tsunade let Naruko pick (and she obviously chose her favorite place, Ichiraku), but she had been planning on taking her there anyway. The older woman looked past Naruko to Sasuke. The boy hadn't stopped scowling since he was left with them. She shook her head at his attitude as well as at Naruko's. She acted like he wasn't there, and was trying to ignore the boy's presence in the seat next to her as much as possible. It wasn't working too well since she would glance at the scowling boy at times before turning back to her ramen quickly.

"Soooo…" Naruko began. "How are you Sasuke-san?"

"What do you think, dobe?" he answered smoothly without looking from his own food. The blonde glared at him heatedly and mumbled, "Teme," under her breath. Silence engulfed them again. They need to talk without me here, I can tell, Tsunade thought with a mental sigh. The ramen shop was in a line up of shops and other small restaurants of the like. Making up an excuse in her mind quickly, she stood from her seat.

"I just remembered something I need to get. I'm not very hungry at the moment, and since you have to be home soon Naruko-chan, I'll get it while you both are eating," she told them. "I won't be too long, but if you finish before I'm back just wait for me here. I've already paid."

"Okay obaa-san," Naruko replied. Sasuke grunted when she look to him for recognition. She exited the small shop, leaving the two in an awkward silence.

**_Well now, such an awkward silence. Maybe you should say something. I thought you didn't like silence._**

_Shut up you bastard._

"Soo…I didn't know your brother was Dei-chan's boyfriend," Naruko said eventually, trying to block the voice from her head. It was true, she'd never been one to enjoy silence for too long, especially since the voice decided to pop into her head at random times.

"Yeah. Deidara-kun's like another mother actually. He's so girly," Sasuke replied without even thinking. Naruko grinned at this.

"Yeah, especially with his hair. I wonder about that boy sometimes," she said with a light chuckle. Sasuke's mouth twitched. He hadn't exactly meant to talk so casually with the blonde, but Itachi was always telling him he should be more social. And it was between a conversation with the dobe or sulking. He thought for a minute. Maybe she wasn't so bad…

"Y-yeah," he agreed.

"You know, obaa-san's actually my aunt," Naruko told him. She knew he had to be wondering about that since not many knew she was related to the nurse. "She used to be part of the police force, and Jiraiya too. You know him, don't you? I think most people get him for health. He's a pervert, but he's nice enough. But they both quit when…"

She stopped in her train of thought, realizing she might say more than she'd want to.

**_What are you going to say brat? Are you going to give him a heartfelt confession and cry on his shoulder?_**

_No. Who said I was?_

**_Baka brat, I'm in your head. I know your thoughts._**

_But I never thought that did I?_

**_Maybe so, but even if you did that, he wouldn't give a damn anyway. You're just another annoying girl to him._**

_Why don't you ever shut up?_

"When what?" Sasuke asked, knocking her out of her thoughts. She'd caught his attention now that she'd mentioned the police force.

"Uhm, w-when…when I was about six," she said finally. "But aren't your family police too? I've heard of the Uchiha reputation before from Dei-chan and obaa-san."

"Yeah. Father was so amazing at it, but…" he started excitedly, but then he frowned darkly, "they're all dead now." He clenched his fists remember this.

**_Ooh, nice one brat. Hit him where it hurts._**

"Aa, that's right. I'm sorry for bringing it up again. I know how you feel," she said quietly while inwardly cursing at the voice. He narrowed his eyes at her. Screw her being good; there was no way in hell she knew what he was going through now.

"Like hell you do," he said. "You couldn't possibly know what it's like to lose someone."

Naruko glared right back at him. Where did nice Sasuke go?

**_Who the hell knows. He was probably just leading you on anyway._**

_No he wasn't!_

**_He just insulted you brat. What are you going to say back to him? Aren't you going to stand up for yourself?_**

"What do you think I was doing at the cemetery? Visiting a stranger's grave? I've lost someone too!"

**_Pathetic._**

"Were they murdered in front of you? Was it your entire family?!" Sasuke shot back.

**_You're too weak._**

"It wasn't my entire family-" she started.

"So you couldn't know-!"

**_Just like you were back then._**

"But-"

"Don't even-"

**_Weakling_.** Hearing this from that voice, and done with being yelled at by Sasuke, she slammed her hand on the table and stood glaring at the other boy. She'd had enough

"I may not know what it's like to have my entire family killed in front of me, but my father was shot right in front of me by a fucking serial killer!" Naruko yelled at him. "God, you teme! Don't you dare even think for a second that you're the only one suffering from losing someone when they were right in front of you! When you want to do something, but you know you fucking can't because you're too weak to even fight back! God damn it, you're such an idiotic jerk!"

Sasuke was too surprised to speak, but he kept his glare to hide the fact. The shop was silent now, and the few people that were there stared at the pair. Giving him one last glare, Naruko walked out of the shop. _How dare he think he's the only fucking one that suffers! Like he's so special!_

She could hear the voice's laughter echoing through her head. She hated that sound. _Stop laughing you bastard._

"Ah…got into a fight, now did you?"

Naruko looked up with a surprised look, to see Tsunade standing in front of her with a smile. She opened her mouth to rant, but decided against it. She didn't need to yell at her aunt. She could deal with it on her own, and she didn't need any help.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tsunade said. "You both have been through a lot, you know, so don't go thinking you're the only one that suffers either."

She gave her aunt another surprised look as Sasuke finally decided to come out of the shop. Naruko glanced at Sasuke and then dropped her head. Being the stubborn person she was, she refused to talk to him even if her aunt was right. She headed to the car that Tsunade had brought in front of Ichiraku and got in without a word.

"Seems like we'll be taking you home now runt. Get in," Tsunade said to Sasuke. His face was blank, and he said nothing as he got in.

* * *

The car stopped and Sasuke got out. Naruko didn't look at him, nor did she say a farewell to the boy. But it didn't matter to him. She could sulk as long as she wanted. It's not like they were friends or anything. Tsunade motioned to him as he went around the car so he could walk up the path to the front door. 

"Tell your brother I'd like a chance to speak with him again and give both him and Deidara-kun my regards," she said with a smile. He nodded silently. "Good. Take care of yourself Sasuke-san."

"…Arigatou," he said quietly before walking the rest of the way to his house. He heard the car pull away as he opened the door and went in. That car held one of the most frustrating people he'd ever met, and yet…he was actually starting to like her. God damn it.

* * *

**A/N:** Another chapter! Yes! All right, so you guys wanted some more Naruto/Sasuke interaction, and here it is. Truthfully I wanted more too. XP I think Sasuke may be a bit OOC in this, but I tried my best. Surprisingly this is the first chapter that I actually sort of like! Ha, I had fun writing it, especially the fight scene between Naruto and Sasuke. I had this little movie going on in my head as I wrote it, playing that scene. Anywho, I hope you guys all really liked it. And thank you sooooooooo much for the reviews! It warms my heart to see that people actually like this. So please review. It will make me very happy. And possibly help me update faster…

**Disclaimer:** don't own Naruto, and probably never will...


	7. Chapter 7

They pulled up in front of Naruto's house slowly, and a sense of uneasiness washed over him as he saw his mother's car parked in the driveway. He was supposed to be in his room now. He exchanged a look with his aunt before they got out of the car.

"I'll take care of it," Tsunade had said, giving him a smile. They got to the front door and rang the doorbell. Yumi opened the door a crack like she had when Tsunade had come before, but when she saw Naruto there with the older blonde she flung the door wide and launched herself onto him.

"Naruko, my baby! I'm so glad you're safe! I thought you left me for good," she said. She looked up at Tsunade with an innocent look.

"Yumi-san, we need to talk about Naruto," she said. She ignored the woman's trembling at her son's male name and walked into the house. Yumi followed quickly after, still holding onto Naruto. Once in the living room, there was a heavy silence. Naruto removed his arm from his mothers grip and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm going to get a drink all right? I'll be right back," he told her.

"All right honey," she replied in a whisper. He left the two alone, but didn't go to the kitchen. He wasn't thirsty, he just wanted to get out of the tension between the two women.

"Where did you find my little Naruko, Tsunade-chan? I didn't expect her to leave, so I got a little worried. But I'm glad you brought her back," Yumi began with a sweet smile on her face.

"Don't you think you should be calling him his real name Yumi-san?" Tsunade said. Yumi's expression did not change, and she only tilted her head to the side.

"Who?" she said.

"Naruto. Your son." Yumi froze but her smile was ever present.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about. I only have a daughter, and her name is Naruko, not Naruto," she said shakily.

"No matter what you say, you know Naruto's a boy. It won't change any time soon either. And the way you're treating him, locking him up in his room, isn't healthy for him," Tsunade said sternly. Yumi's expression changed at this, glaring at the blonde woman.

"I know what's best for my child, Tsunade-chan, and I don't need your counseling on it," she said harshly. "I'm keeping her safe from that mad man! I don't want Naruko to be taken from me again! I won't let anyone take her from me, not even you!"

"I'm not trying to take him away. Even if you think you're protecting Naruto, you're only going to end up hurting him in the end. You've already hurt him enough with your twisted game of dress up," Tsunade spat. All her frustration and anger at the woman was coming out now, and it wouldn't be pretty for either side. Naruto simply stood against the wall near the room's doorway, listening to the conversation. Who did Yumi mean when she said 'mad man'?

"She's a girl, it's how she's supposed to dress. I don't see how I'm hurting my own child. Naruko seems very happy as she is," Yumi said.

"You really aren't getting any better are you, Yumi-san? You need to accept the fact that your son can't always dress as a girl just because you think he's one. He has his own life, and he wants to live it as a boy! He wants to live it freely, but you're restricting him and keeping him all to yourself just because Snake's back?" Tsunade yelled. Naruto's heart stopped at the name. _He's…back…?_

"You don't need to lock Naruto up just because you're afraid of losing him again," Tsunade continued.

"Don't tell me how to raise my child Tsunade! I don't need to hear that from you!" Yumi said. "Get out of my house!"

"Think of what you're doing to him!"

"I said get out!" she screamed. Tsunade wanted to say so much more, but she held it back. Yumi wouldn't listen, not even to her. A loud thump was heard in the hall, and the two women rushed to the noise. Naruto was out cold on the floor.

"Naruto-!"

"I told you to get out of my house Tsunade. I can take care of my own child," Yumi said threateningly, blocking the blonde from touching her son. Tsunade looked from the unconscious Naruto to his mother before turning with her lips drawn into a tight line. She left without another word. No matter how much she wanted to help, she knew she couldn't. Yumi wouldn't let her. She just prayed Naruto would be fine.

* * *

Naruto woke up in his bed, still in the outfit he'd worn when he went out with his aunt. He looked curiously at his hands as though he'd never seen them before, and then grinned. He got up, walked into the bathroom, and looked at his girlish face. He chuckled lowly, the grin still in place. No, Naruto wasn't going crazy. Naruto wasn't even there anymore. The voice in his head, the one that had protected him when he was with Orochimaru, had come out and taken over. Naruto hadn't taken his pills in a few days, and the shock from hearing his torturer was back had made him faint, and his unconscious state had put the voice in his place. Finding this the perfect time to say some things he knew Naruto had wanted to say to his mother, he thought he'd go do that. Whether Naruto liked it or not. _It's for your own good, brat._

"Naruko? Are you in there?" Yumi called from his room. His grin grew for a second before he assumed what looked like a 'Naruto' expression.

"I was just using the toilet mom," he said as he walked out of the room.

"Oh, there you are. How are you honey?" she asked. He walked past her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine," he said. "But there's something I've been wanting to tell you mom."

"What is it honey?" she asked. He was barely hiding his feral grin from the woman as the next words slipped off his tongue. He'd been waiting to see her reaction to it for a long time now.

"I don't like you," he started. He saw her eyes widen. "You've been a bad mother to me all these years, pretending I was a girl. You need to stop living in your little fantasy and let me be who I am, because I'm not you're toy. I am a boy, and that's who I'm going to be. No matter what you say."

"Wh-what? Naruko, honey, you're not-"

"My name's Naruto, mom, not Naruko. Get it right," he said with a bored expression playing on his face. The woman was trembling. He got up and walked past her out of the room. "I'm going to school now. But…just think about it, mom. You're getting your son back."

* * *

Tsunade sat at her desk, flipping her pencil with a worried expression on her face. Shizune had already asked her what was wrong, to which Tsunade had simply said, "Naruto."

She figured he must have been listening in on their conversation and fainted from shock in hearing that Snake was back. After all he'd been through…and now the one that had done it to him was running loose again. She probably should have told him sooner instead of having him find out that way. The door opened, and the blonde looked up thinking it was just student coming to say they were sick. Instead, she found Naruto standing before her with the same clothes from the day before.

"Hey," he said as he walked in. Noticing the subtle change of attitude, her eyes narrowed.

"Kyuubi," she said. He faked a pout and put his hands on his hips.

"Not too happy to see me, are we? That hurts my feelings auntie."

"I thought you weren't bothering Naruto anymore," Tsunade said, motioning for the boy to sit. He did so while throwing her a grin.

"Well…he did forget to take his medicine for a couple days, but don't blame him," he said in an innocent voice, seeing her frown at that. "He needed someone to talk to all those lonely days his psycho mother had him locked up by himself."

"Then is that why you're out now?"

"Oh no, no, no, no. I'm out because when he fainted from the shock, he pushed me out. I think it was rather rude of him, but I can't really control what that brat does," he replied. "Anyway, I'd like to go back now. I've already done what I wanted to do concerning your little Naru-chan's mother. Besides, this place bores me now."

"So why did you come here if you were going to go back?" Tsunade asked.

"Well because I couldn't have him fainting just anywhere, and I certainly didn't want him staying another day in that house. Besides I wanted to see you again," he told her still grinning. "Now with that done-"

"W-wait, what did you-!" Tsunade said, just realizing what he'd said before.

"-I will be leaving now. Make sure to get the brat's hair cut soon," he finished with a smirk. He fainted once again with the final words, "Good bye."

Shizune walked in to see an unconscious Naruto and Tsunade frowning while holding him. Immediately she went into panic mode. She took Naruto from Tsunade's arms when it seemed that she wasn't going to be moving any time soon, and placed him on the vacant bed. She turned to Tsunade and asked, "What happened?"

"Kyuubi came out, and he did something," Tsunade said.

"What did he do? Why was he out?!" Shizune asked.

"Naruto found out that Snake is back, yesterday." A gasp, Shizune hadn't known. "He fainted from shock I guess, and pushed Kyuubi out. But I think he's going to push Naruto back out now…"

"Then…what did he do?"

"I don't know what he did Shizune-san. He said something about Yumi-san, and getting Naruto a haircut. Beyond that, all I know is that he did something, and I really hope it won't effect Naruto too much."

"You don't think he…" Shizune trailed off in concern. Tsunade's eyes widened as the realization struck her. _Damn that Kyuubi._

* * *

"Naruto-kun? How are you feeling?" Shizune asked as she saw the boy waking up. He blinked his eyes a few times against the glaring lights above. He sat up, wondering why he was in the nurse's office at his school instead of his own room. He didn't remember coming to school…

"I'm…fine. Why am I here?" he asked with a confused expression.

"You came in here this morning and said you weren't feeling well so I let you sleep for a bit," Tsunade replied from her desk. Naruto tried to think back, but only drew a blank.

"O-okay," he said. He had the feeling she was hiding something. Normally he had a very good memory, and it had been a thing he hated in the past. But it was Tsunade saying it, and she'd never deliberately lied to him before unless it was something unimportant or that he didn't need to know anyway. He'd let it go for now.

Naruto got up and checked himself in the mirror. He didn't remember changing either since the day before, but now he was dressed in blue jeans and an orange long-sleeved, off-the-shoulders shirt with a blue star printed on the left side of it. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled it back into his signature hairstyle of two high pigtails. Satisfied enough with his look, he sighed and turned to Shizune and Tsunade with a smile.

"Thanks for letting me rest for a bit obaa-san," he said. He walked toward the door so he could get to his class, but Tsunade spoke again before he could leave.

"Hey brat. I'm going to try to talk with your mom again, so come visit me after school again. I'll drive you home," she said.

"Alright. I'll see you then Tsunade-obaasan! See you later Shizune-san!" Naruto said as he left.

Tsunade's smile dropped when the boy was out of sight. She waited a few more minutes until she was sure Naruto wouldn't be in the hall any more. Suddenly she stood, grabbed her coat, and said to Shizune without looking at her, "Take over for now. I need to see what Kyuubi did to Yumi-san."

The dark haired woman nodded seriously. In her mind she was worried beyond belief, as was her nature to over exaggerate. But this time she had a right to worry so much. No matter what Naruto's split personality, Kyuubi, did or said (whether it was sarcastic, rude, nice, comforting, or just plain frustrating), he meant to help Naruto. It was the reason he was created. He was created to help Naruto through any trauma he went through, starting with everything Snake had done.

* * *

"Yumi-san?" Tsunade called as she rapped her knuckles loudly against the wooden front door. She waited a few seconds before rapping it again. She frowned. _Not even an answer._

"Is you don't answer me, I'll come in anyway," she said. She waited again, but there was still no answer. She was beginning to worry even more. "Alright, I'm coming in Yumi-san."

She grabbed the spare key from the same spot she found it last time, and opened the door. Walking in, she found the front hallway dark except for the light coming in through the windows. She kept walking, not bothering to take her shoes off either. She hadn't a clue where Yumi was, so she decided to check every room. It wasn't until she entered the kitchen at the end of the hall that she found the woman. She sat at the table, very still, and seemingly staring off into nothingness. Tsunade approached her cautiously and called very quietly, "Yumi-san?"

The woman's head whipped around to stare at the intruder with wide, watery eyes. She looked a mess, like a lost kicked puppy, only older and with more make-up. Her lips trembled as she breathed the blonde woman's name. Suddenly her eyes narrowed.

"It was you! You're the one that took Naruko away from me!" she accused. She stood from her seat at the table and pointed her finger at the other.

"You keep insisting she's a boy, and your ideas have infected her mind! Now she wants to be a boy! She says her name is Naruto, but I know it's not!" she said hysterically. "She says 'But mom, I'm not a girl, my name's Naruto, not Naruko'! It's only from your influence that she's become like this!"

"Calm down Yumi-san," Tsunade tried to say, but the other wouldn't let her.

"No. You…you and your strange ideas of my perfect little girl being a boy need to stay away from Naruko. I won't let you change her, I won't let you take her away from me!" Yumi cried. Tsunade slapped her, and then grasped her shoulders and shook her gently.

"You need to calm down Yumi-san. I'm not taking him away from you. I haven't influenced him any. He didn't want to tell you, but now he has and you need to listen to what he has to say," she said.

"N-no, but she's not…" Yumi whimpered desperately.

"He is. He is a he. You said he wants to be a boy, and if that's what he wants, you need to let him. He's not going anywhere if you let him be himself, Yumi-san," Tsunade told her. She shook her head slowly then rapidly, wrenching herself from Tsunade's grasp.

"N-no, no! You're lying…!" she cried. She grasped her own arms and hugged herself. "She…Naruko says I'm a bad mother and she doesn't like me, because I'm pretending she's a girl…that I'm living in a fantasy…"

Yumi looked up at the blonde before her with scared eyes. "It's true, isn't it? Am I hurting her Tsunade-chan?"

She didn't give the blonde a chance to answer. She began to back away from the other and hugged herself tighter.

"I am, aren't I? And now, she wants to leave me. But I'm not pretending…I'm not pretending!" she screamed. Suddenly she grasped a large knife from behind her where the larger, sharper knives were stored in a wooden holder. She held it before her, startling Tsunade.

"If she thinks I'm such a bad mother, if she dislikes me so much, she shouldn't care if I'm gone! This should show her just how real I am!" she screamed as she turned the knife upon herself.

"Yumi-san, what are you-!" Tsunade cried.

Before she could react, Yumi had plunged the knife into her chest. Blood poured from the wound that had punctured her heart and Tsuande did her best not to scream as she saw the woman fall to the ground as blood gathered around her, flowing from the wound. She shook at the sight of the blood and her mouth dried. She nearly gagged at the smell, but she knew she had to do something. With trembling hands, she took her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 9-1-1.

"Hello, emergency hotline, what is your crisis?" answered a polite woman.

"Y-yes, he-hello. I have a woman…bleeding to death in front of me," she replied shakily.

"An ambulance will be there right away. Where are you located?"

"At…336 Leaf Drive."

"Alright, thank you. Now I need you to stay on the line with me for now, can you do that? I'm going to have you do some things until the ambulance arrives."

"Ok-kay," Tsunade said. She was trembling badly, and was sincerely wishing that the ambulance would not take long. Yumi had already lost a lot of blood, and she looked pale as Death. _Oh God, Yumi…

* * *

_

**A/N:** Omigosh, this was so intense to me. I had the movie going in my head again, except it was with the last part where Yumi killed herself. Gawd, I'm loving writing this soooo much. I hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am. Sorry if this seems short, but I updated faster! And the next chapter is even part way done! Kyuubi came out for a little bit too. I just had to have him come out at least once in this, and I thought, 'hey! This would probably be the best time for that!' So there he is in all his cocky, sarcastic glory. Personally, I don't think Kyuubi was quite in character, but I had fun writing him that way. I hope you all liked it as well. Thank you soooo much for all the reviews once again. I love you all soo much, and your reviews literally give me energy, even on super bad, blah days when everything just kind of sucks ass. So please review again, I look forward to reading them with anxiousness of your opinions on the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** still don't own Naruto, for I will never be worthy enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Aah, chemistry. A reprieve from all the drama with its scientific glory. And oh, what's this? There seems to be a little spark here. Let's see where it takes us: into a beautiful flame, or a raging inferno…But enough with the pyro-talk.

"Sorry I'm late Anko-sensei. I wasn't feeling well this morning, so I guess I'm still recovering," Naruko said as she ran into the room.

"You better be sorry, maggot! You've got a lot of work to catch up on, and don't be expecting me to give you all the answers," the crazed teacher said. "Ask your partner for notes if you need them."

"Hai Anko-sensei," Naruko replied. She walked over to Sasuke and sat down beside him as Anko went back to explaining what she had written on the board. She sighed heavily before turning to the boy next to her, realizing she really would need those notes.

"Hey, can I copy your notes teme?" she asked nicely, seeming to forget that she had been mad at the boy the other day. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed his notebook toward the girl, deciding not to be a stuck up jerk. He actually felt a little guilt for being so inconsiderate and thinking of only himself as unfortunate…not that he would admit it. He was an Uchiha, and he had his pride. And an Uchiha did not admit he was guilty of anything.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-teme! You aren't so bad after all," she said happily. And while Sasuke rolled his eyes once again, he groaned almost inaudibly. It was that feeling again. The one that poked and prodded and nagged that Sasuke didn't dislike Naruko as much as he acted like he did.

"Whatever dobe. Just make sure I get them back by the end of class," Sasuke said. She wasn't much bothered by his name calling anymore, and so only nodded at his statement with a smile as she continued copying notes from the notebook and Anko's lecture. Class ended once again with no major explosions of chemicals or verbal assaults. Anko found it rather interesting, watching Sasuke and Naruko work together without actually working together. But now they were doing it on a calmer level than before. She smirked at the pair as they packed their things at the end of class.

"Hey dobe…" Sasuke called. That stupid feeling had been nagging at him the entire period, and he really didn't feel like having it nag him for the rest of the day. Naruko turned to him with a curious stare.

"Yes teme?" she answered. He refused to look her straight in the eyes and continued to put his books in his bag.

"About the other day…" he started. Naruko's eyes widened as if she just remembered something.

"Oh…" she said slowly. "It's…okay Sasuke-teme. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were hurting too, but you just happened to…open old scars, so I yelled."

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. Although he hadn't said it, she knew what he wanted to say. As long as his point got across that he hadn't meant to yell at her…

"Obaa-san said we should be friends, not enemies, so…why don't we start over? As friends," Naruko suggested. The raven-haired boy thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Alright. Friends," he said.

"Friends," Naruko repeated with a fox-like grin. "I'll see you later. Bye Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke smiled a little at this. She was cute when she smiled like that. Like a baby fox.

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan! Ino-chan! I've missed you all!" Naruko shouted as she burst through the door to the roof. She ran to hug her friends, but found one missing and remembered the fight her pink and blonde haired friends had.

"Naruko-chan!" Sakura cried, hugging the girl with a smile. "How are you feeling? I haven't seen you since last week!"

"Welcome b-back Naruko-chan," Hinata said in a louder voice than usual. She was smiling as well to see her friend back in school and well.

"I'm still recovering, but I'm much better now. How have you guys been?" Naruko asked.

"Well it's definitely been a lot quieter here than usual without your loudmouth. We've been getting along just fine. But Gaara came to look for you up here one day. I think you should go give him a visit before the end of the period," Sakura told her. Naruko nodded.

"Okay. Soon as I'm done with my lunch. How's Ino-chan doing?" she asked. Sakura shut her mouth and refused to answer, making the blonde sigh. She turned to Hinata who gave a sympathetic smile.

"She's okay. Go visit her too, N-Naruko-chan. She's been worried as well," she said. Naruko nodded again. The three began to eat their food before she remembered her conversation with the pinkette's obsession.

"Ah…oh yeah. Sakura, you like Sasuke-teme right?" she asked.

"Don't call him that," Sakura said, hitting the blonde over the head with a blush on her face. "And…yeah, I do."

"Great. I'll introduce you guys then! I was planning on finding him too," Naruko told her.

"W-what! Wha…how are you going to introduce us? I mean, I thought you and Sasuke-kun didn't like each other," Sakura said in a surprised voice.

"Well…we didn't. Buuut we talked things out and decided to start over," Naruko answered. "Soo we're trying out the whole friends thing now."

"T-that's great Naruko-chan," Hinata said with a smile.

"Yeah. He's still a teme, but he's not so bad I guess," replied the blonde. She turned back to the pinkette. "So do you want me to introduce you or not?"

"Of course I do!" Sakura exclaimed. She sighed and continued in a dreamy voice, "I will finally be able to talk to Sasuke-kun, and he will see at last that we are meant to be together!"

Naruko rolled her eyes once again at her friend's obsession with the boy, but smiled despite that. At least she could make her friend happy. Naruko and Hinata finished their lunch quickly due to Sakura's commands to eat faster so she could meet Sasuke-kun.

* * *

"Gaara-kuuuuun!" Naruko exclaimed loudly enough for the red head to hear from the other side of the lunchroom. Said boy jumped in surprise at the voice calling his name, not used to be called out of the crowd. He raised his head and looked for the source of the sound. Sasuke gave him a questioning look and then tried to find what Gaara happened to be looking for. He didn't see anything of any importance, and simply went back to his lunch.

"Gaara!" Naruko cried again as she pummeled him with a hug and her customary kiss on the cheek. The red head's cheeks tinted a light pink, never having been used to close contact, but it was almost unnoticeable. Sasuke sat back, mildly surprised at the scene. He'd always thought Gaara would be the type to rip someone's head off is they even thought of hugging him like Naruko had just done. Seeing the blonde completely absorbed with the red head, as well as her other friends that had tagged along, he decided to wait until they noticed him sitting there.

"Hello to you as well, Uzumaki. How are you feeling? I heard you were sick from your aunt," Gaara said calmly and impassive for the most part.

"I'm better now. I really didn't want to miss school, but mom insisted. How about you Gaara-" Naruko said, cutting herself off and doing a double take when she noticed Sasuke sitting across the table from her red headed friend. She looked back and forth between the two boys. Before finally setting her gaze upon Sasuke.

"I didn't know you were friends with Gaara! I thought you sat alone at lunch because you haven't made any friends and you scare away all your fangirls!" Naruko said bluntly. Sasuke almost face vaulted at that comment, but he caught himself. Though Sakura, Hinata, and Gaara weren't as lucky.

"I'm not. We're more of acquaintances. I just sit here for lunch," Sasuke replied.

"Oh…okay," Naruko said. Sakura elbowed the blonde in the side who yelped in response. Then she remembered why the pinkette was there. "Oh yeah. This is Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. I thought you should have some more friends, so I decided to introduce you to some people."

Naruko grinned at him and Sasuke simply raised a brow at her before turning to the other two girls and simply saying, "Nice to meet you."

Sakura blushed and stuttered back to him with Hinata, "N-nice to meet you too."

"Hey," a voice said off to the side. They turned to see Neji standing there with his lunch in hand. He glanced at them all, his eyes lingering more on Hinata. "Konichiwa, Hinata-sama."

"A-aa, konichiwa…Neji-kun. H-how are you?" she asked.

"I'm well. And you?" he asked in return.

"I-I am also well," she replied with a smile. Naruko smiled at the two. She'd seen them talking together occasionally, and truly was glad that they were getting along now. Deciding she could leave her friends here for the moment since Sakura would be occupied with Sasuke, and Hinata would be talking with her cousin, Naruko left the group quietly after telling Gaara (the only one not really involved in conversation with anyone, as he liked it) where she was going. And that would be to Ino's table.

Her blonde friend decided she could sit at the table with the lazy genius Nara Shikamaru, and living garbage disposal Akamachi Choji. The two boys had always been inseparable since grade school, and Ino had eventually weaseled her way into their tiny friend circle somewhere during middle school. Ino would nag both of them all the time, but she knew neither of them would listen. And they knew she would never stop nagging, so they just got used to it.

As Naruko looked around for the other blonde, Ino spotted her first. Excited to see her friend for the first time in nearly a week, she got up and jumped Naruko crying out the girl's name.

"Ino-chan!" Naruko exclaimed happily. The two hugged and then went back to the table Ino had been eating at. She grinned and waved at the boys. "Hey Shika, hey Choji."

"Yo," was Shikamaru's simple response.

"Hey," Choji replied between bites. Ino urged her to sit with them and Naruko accepted the offer readily.

"So how are you? I heard you were sick all week!" Ino said.

"Oh, yeah. I'm much better now. Mom just…insisted I stay home, you know," Naruko replied with a grin. Silently she berated herself on the slight falter, but she was convinced that no one saw, so decided to think about it later. She didn't notice Shikamaru's continuously calculating eyes. No one ever did since it was always hidden behind his lazy expression. But he wouldn't say anything either unless it was absolutely necessary, really. And so they talked a while until the period was nearly over when Naruko remembered what she'd said to Sakura. It would be unfair if she left Ino out, wouldn't it?

"Hey Ino, you still like Sasuke-teme right?" she asked suddenly.

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Ino stuttered out, "Uh y-yeah. Why?"

"Well…the teme and I have come to a truce recently, so we're trying to be friends now I guess. And he doesn't really have many friends, so I decided maybe I should introduce him to some of my friends so he won't be so anti-social," Naruko replied.

"So you want me to talk to him?" Ino said looking a bit perplexed.

"Um…yeah. Basically," Naruko said with a nod. Ino jumped up with a grin, her expression changing from perplexed to excitement.

"Well then come on, let's go! Lunch is almost over," she practically squealed.

"Alright, alright," Naruko said, getting up and following her friend after waving good-bye to the other two boys who had ignored most of the conversation. "Sakura-chan is there too though, so please don't fight. I mean I know you will since neither of you have made up yet, but just leave it alone for today."

Ino sighed with a frown, though it wasn't exactly an angry frown. She replied, "Alright, I'll hold back for today since you've only just gotten back. But she better not push my buttons, in which case, I can't guarantee what I'll do."

"That's fine. Thanks, Ino-chan. I'll have to tell Sakura-chan too though," Naruko said. They arrived at the table, and the new blonde was introduced to Sasuke quickly enough. Naruko pulled her pink haired friend away before she could start any arguments and told what she'd said to Ino. Sakura agreed with a sigh and a threat of what she'd do if Ino got her too riled up. But the blonde was fine with that. As long as they weren't fighting, and at least trying to get along, she thought maybe they would make up sooner. She certainly hoped so, at least.

* * *

Shizune sighed for about the millionth time that day. Tsunade, who had left not even an hour after the school day had started, was not back from her check up on Naruto's mother, Yumi. School was almost over, and she was beginning to worry about the blonde woman…well, not that she hadn't started worrying after an hour had gone by and Tsunade hadn't come back. She hadn't even gotten so much as a call from the other. And then…her cell phone rang. _Well isn't that convenient._

"Tsunade-sama," she greeted into the receiver as she flipped it on without bothering to look at the number. She assumed it was Tsunade since she rarely ever got calls while she was at work, and she was right. Though the said woman didn't sound as if she were faring very well.

"_Shizune…I-I need you to take Naruto-kun to the hospital as soon as possible…_" she said softly yet sternly. Hearing the tone, Shizune immediately straightened as if she were speaking to the other woman directly.

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama. But what happened? Why are you at the hospital?" she asked concernedly. "Are you hurt at all?"

"_…No. I'm not the one that's hurt_," Tsunade replied. "_Just…get Naruto here. I need to talk to him now._"

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said. She hung up and sighed again. Looking at the time, she saw the dismissal bell would ring in only about fifteen minutes. So she quickly straightened up the office and cleared off the desk before rushing into the office where Deidara sat with a bored expression, typing on his computer. Noticing the Shizune's slightly disheveled appearance he looked at her with concern.

"Shizune-san. Are you okay? You look perturbed," he said.

"I'm fine. I need to call for Naruko-chan as quickly as possible though. Do you think you could do that?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied slowly. He walked to a phone hanging on the wall of the office, pressed a few buttons and waited a moment until a harsh 'beep' went through the school. Then he said, "Would Uzumaki Naruko please come to the office. I repeat, would Uzumaki Naruko please come to the office. That is all, thank you."

"Thank you so much Deidara-san, but wouldn't you usually call the class they are in?" Shizune said with a smile.

"Of course, but this saves time in looking up her schedule and then the number of the classroom. You said you needed her quickly," he replied. "So what's this about? Is she still sick?"

"I don't know. All I know is that Tsunade-sama wants me to bring her to the hospital," she told him.

"Oh dear, I hope nothing too serious has happened," Deidara said.

"I hope so too," she said seriously. She smiled again as she saw Naruto approaching. "I'm sure it won't be anything too bad, so don't worry about it."

"Hey Shizune-san," Naruto said, walking in with a smile. "Hey Dei-chan! What's up with calling me out early? I thought Tsunade-baasan was going to be taking me home."

Shizune smiled and said, "She was, but she told me to take you somewhere else. Now come on. We need to hurry."

"A-alright. Bye Dei-chan," Naruto said with a confused smile.

"Sayonara chibi," Deidara replied with a wave. The pair exited and went to the brunette's car, driving off toward the hospital.

* * *

**A/N:** omg, writer's block!!! Grrr! I'm soooooooooo, so, so, so, so, so sorry! It feels like forever since I've even _looked_ at this thing. I wanted to make this longer since I made you all wait so long for this. But then I thought if I did that, I'd take even longer. And you wouldn't like that now would you? So I decided, I'd give you _something_, and then try to make the next one longer, but it all depends on how things are going. I've got so much to do in the next two weeks…gah!

But enough about me, thank you so much for all of your lovely reviews! I kept thinking of them, and how long I was making you wait when I think I said it would be up soon when it wasn't. And so my guilt produced this. It sucks, and is basically a filler chapter, which I hate. But yeah. It's _something_! Please review and tell me how horrible it is. I know it is, and I can take it. But if you have any words of encouragement, they would be greatly appreciated. Once again thank you, and review.

**Disclaimer: **don't own it, never will.


	9. Chapter 9

Tsunade sighed as she shut the door behind her. The depressing image of her former friend lying so pale and fragile upon the white hospital bed was something she could only stare at for so long. She was still in the danger zone after losing so much blood, but she had more of a chance now that she'd had a transfusion. Shizune would come soon, along with Naruto, and then she'd have to explain what had happened. She didn't know what would the boy's reaction would be, and only hoped that Naruto wouldn't have any serious relapses. Thinking on the subject, she made a mental note to get the boy more of his medicine. He needed it, whether he said he was getting better or not.

She knew no matter how twisted Kyuubi's logic was he'd always done things to help the boy, whether Naruto ended up hurt by the decision or not. Although this time he went too far, Tsunade saw what she should have seen before. No she saw what she'd always seen, but had ignored only because of Naruto's pleading.

She knew Yumi was unstable, and so did Naruto. She'd asked countless times to let her call social services, to let him live with her, yet he refused to be removed from her care. He didn't want to lose his mother, just as Yumi didn't want to lose her 'daughter'. They'd already lost Arashi, and she doubted they'd last very long if they lost each other. Besides that, Naruto had led her to think that Yumi was actually getting better when the exact opposite was happening. He should have known better than to lie to her about that, but she guessed he might have been scared she wouldn't keep her word. Even if he _had_ said she was the same, Tsunade never would have thought that she was as bad off as this. No matter what Naruto said, she couldn't stand to leave him with her any longer.

Before Snake came back Yumi was good to him, besides the whole girl thing, and Tsunade knew that. She didn't abuse him. Naruto did what she said out of love. He'd told her once when she asked why he didn't go back to being a boy like he wanted that he couldn't stand to see her so sad at losing the daughter she thought she had. So he played along with her, and pretended to be her perfect little girl, like she'd always wanted. She reminded him that he could live with her and then he could be himself, but he refused. He said he'd play the girl if that was what kept him with his mother.

Tsunade sank down into the chair in the hall near the room, not even aware that her feet had led her there. She brought her hand up to her face and rubbed her tired eyes. She didn't know how long she sat there like that, but it felt like only a minute before she heard Shizune call her name, catching her off guard.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said again as she stopped in front of the blonde with Naruto not far behind her. She gave them a tired smile to cover up her previous frown. "What happened? I was wondering why you never came back, and then-"

"Shizune-san," Tsunade said in a soft, commanding voice, immediately silencing the brunette. "Please."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she said, bowing her head and keeping the rush of questions inside her head for the time being. Naruto stared at the blonde woman in confusion. He didn't know what to think.

"Tsunade…" he said slowly. She sighed.

"It's Yumi, Naruto-kun. Yumi-san is the reason I called you here, the reason I'm here," she said, hoping she'd pick the right words to explain all of this. She saw Naruto's eyes widen visibly.

"Why? What happened? Is she alright?" he asked, questions coming out a mile a minute. She grimaced.

"She…stabbed herself. She suffered a lot of blood loss, so she's still at risk, but the doctors done all they can do at the moment. As long as she doesn't move around too much or do anything strenuous, she'll be fine," Tsunade told him grimly. Shizune's surprised gasp could be heard. Naruto's head was bowed and his fists were clenched. He wasn't taking the news very well, and she dreaded what she'd have to tell him next, no matter how much she didn't want to. "I'll take you to her. She's unconscious right now and she'll be out for a while longer, but you can visit her."

Naruto nodded, head still down and said quietly, "I want to see her."

She nodded. "Shizune-san," she said as she turned to the other woman who stood there apprehensively, "you can go home. I need to talk with him alone. I'll call you when I return home, alright?"

Shizune looked hesitant, but she agreed with the woman. She trusted Tsunade to keep her word. So she gave a hug to Naruto and then to Tsunade before leaving the hospital.

Tsunade got up, and they walked down the hall until she stopped at one of the doors. She let Naruto enter first, and followed after. He stopped for a second, taking in the sight of his mother lying pale upon the white bed before forcing himself forward again. The bandage poked out visibly from underneath the hospital robe that garbed his mother, and silently, in the back of his mind, he wondered how deep it was, what it looked like. But he didn't want answers to things like that. They were trivial, if not disturbing to think about, compared to the when and why questions screaming about in his head. He thought he heard quiet laughter, but he guessed it came from outside in the halls. He turned to ask Tsunade his questions when he found himself speechless and pinned by Tsunade's stare.

"Have you been taking your medicine, Naruto-kun?"

He threw her a confused stare, not quite seeing the relevancy between his medication and his mother's near suicide. But Tsunade wasn't one to pull random thoughts of concern out of thin air very often before coming the real problem. She was just one of those straightforward kinds of women. Thinking of this, he knew the question had relevancy in some way or another, and so thought about it for the sake of figuring out how it was connected. He frowned.

"I don't remember taking it anytime recently," he answered truthfully. "It's been a while I think, but not too long."

She 'hmmed' thoughtfully and mumbled something to herself that sounded suspiciously like, "So he was telling the truth…" She looked at him, pinning him with her stare again, though not as harshly this time. He sat down in a chair next to his mother while Tsunade opted to stand.

"Naruto…you…" she started hesitantly. He furrowed his brows, and she closed her eyes, her mind still racing through all the ways this conversation could go. She took a deep breath and started again.

"Naruto-kun, do you remember fainting yesterday when you heard Yumi-san and I talking?" she asked, opening her eyes. He nodded, confused on how this was relevant as well, although he had an inkling of an idea in the back of his mind. "Do you remember that it was Snake we had been talking about when you fainted?"

Naruto clenched his fists until his short nails were digging into the palms of his hands. That name burned his ears every time he heard it. "I remember you saying that he was back…then it went black. Tsunade, is he really…is he…?"

He wasn't able to finish the sentence, and all she could do was nod grimly. His fists clenched tighter. He was trembling, but Tsunade had to continue. It would only hurt him more to keep it from him.

"Naruto…when you woke up next…Kyuubi came out. You pushed your other self out after you fainted, I'm guessing, from shock," she told him. He stared at her wide-eyed in disbelief. He heard the quiet laughter, but there was a more demonic sound to it this time. He realized the laughter from before had been from Kyuubi as well. _Damn it!_

"What did he do?" Naruto asked through gritted teeth. He couldn't expect Kyuubi to answer him outright, or even answer him at all. He seemed content to bother him whenever he felt the need to, and almost never answered him when he wanted him to.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened this morning. He didn't really do anything so much as say something. He said something to Yumi-san, and then came straight to me."

"What did he say, damn it?" He was trembling again. She was reluctant to give the answer to this.

"From what I gathered, he told Yumi-san that…she was a bad mother, that she should stop living in her own world and let you be a boy," she said. "When he came into the office, he hinted at it, so I went to go check on her. She was upset by it all, and then all this happened."

A heavy silence came over the room. A nurse entered the room suddenly, making both of them jump. She checked a few things, and wrote down a few notes before smiling at the two somber figures. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you both to leave for now. We need to run a few more tests. Are you going home after this?"

"Hai," Tsunade said.

"Alright. I'll send the agents you requested to your home then. Have a nice day," the nurse said in a kind voice. The blonde woman nodded, said her thanks and led Naruto from the room.

They left the hospital and were at Tsunade's house before Naruto knew it. For some odd reason he'd expected her to take him home, but thinking on it he berated himself for the stupid thought. No one was at his house now…no one was home…

"You can use the same room you use every time you come here. Come get me for dinner later and we'll go get some ramen, okay brat?" Tsunade said, hoping to cheer the blonde. He gave her a weak smile at the name, but other than that, nothing. He trudged up to the spare room she'd mentioned and closed the door.

Tsunade left for the living room, but not before she stopped to call Shizune like she had promised, and then went to the kitchen for a little refreshment. She frowned the whole time. How could she expect to cheer up her nephew if she was just as depressed about this as him? She wasn't so sad about Yumi's near death, than about having to tell Naruto he was the cause of it. Although it wasn't really him that had said those things, she knew he'd convince himself that it was and it'd just go down hill from there. She took a long gulp from the bottle she'd acquired from the kitchen, not even bothering to get a glass. What was the use if she was just going to drink it all anyway?

It wasn't long before she finished that bottle, having been half empty in the first place, and was on to the next one. Not long after she was drunk and sobbing.

Naruto came out near dinner like Tsunade had told him to and saw his aunt crying. Silently, he took the empty bottles and placed them in the kitchen before returning for his aunt. He pried the bottle of sake from her hands and she fell into a sobbing heap on him. He helped her to her room, having done it many times before. He'd only escorted a crying Tsunade back to her room once before, and he wasn't even sure why she'd been crying that time. He brought a trashcan for her if she threw up later and then left the room. He put the half finished bottle of sake back where the rest were after closing it.

Sighing, he went back to his room, not feeling hungry anymore. He flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes with a frown, trying to sleep even though he had yet to change into the extra pajamas that were always there for him. The whole time he was helping his aunt to her room she'd been mumbling and crying on him, about him, for him. _She shouldn't have to. She shouldn't be sorry. It was my fault mom's like that, and my fault she did it._

**_She deserved it brat, we both know it,_ **Kyuubi chimed in sounding utterly satisfied.

_Shut up! She didn't deserve that! You didn't have to come out and say those things to her either!_

**_She was going to fall off her rocker at some point, I just gave her a little nudge. You can't honestly believe that she'd just magically get better…oh wait, I forgot who I was talking to._**

_Shut the fuck up you demon. You have no right to say that,_ Naruto growled in his head.

**_If you say I'm a demon, you're only talking about yourself. I _****am_ you after all,_ **Kyuubi answered. Naruto could almost see the smirk on his face.

He gave out a frustrated sigh and turned onto his side as thunder crackled outside his window. Rain started coming down slowly, and then increased rapidly until large drops were splattering into the windowpane, making it blurry and almost impossible to see out of it. He snuggled into the pillow his head rested on, frown still set. _Lovely._

* * *

Tsunade woke to the doorbell piercing through the silence. Groaning, she realized that the ringing in her head wouldn't stop like the doorbell had. She got up with a slight wobble and waited for a slight dizzy spell to pass from the headache. The doorbell rang again causing another groan to pass from her lips. She heard the door open before she even left her bedroom. She wondered in her hazy mind if it was a burglar. But a burglar wouldn't ring the doorbell certainly…or would they. But then her memory came back to her. She'd brought Naruto home with her, gotten drunk, and then Naruto must have taken her to her room when he came down to dinner. She didn't remember, and the splitting headache told her she drank more than her usual portion of sake. She frowned, mentally noting that she owed the boy ramen. 

Figuring that it was Naruto who answered the door, she also figured he would deal with the visitor, whomever they were, until she went downstairs. She changed into jeans and a loose fitting blouse. She went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up. It didn't work that well. She decided tea would be better, but felt that taking a painkiller would be best to do first, before she had to deal with the people downstairs that Naruto had obviously invited in. Hopefully they weren't his friends.

Then again, it was still a school day and they would still be in class. She'd called Shizune the day before and asked her to take over the office for the day and mark Naruto absent for that day. His friends shouldn't be visiting unless they were skipping school. But they couldn't have known that he was at her house now either. Blurry as her memory was, she didn't remember anyone making any phone calls other than her own to Shizune. And she was fairly certain that Naruto left his cell phone at his house since he had been Kyuubi at the time he left and didn't come into school with anything.

She walked down and saw two grown men before her and Naruto was in the kitchen making tea. She was confused for a moment before even more memories dawned on her. They were, presumably, the agents she'd asked for at the hospital.

"Good morning gentlemen," she said as she crossed to Naruto to help him with the tea. They nodded at her politely.

Naruto said he could handle it, and that he made some toast for her since she would need something in her stomach to make the painkiller work. She nodded, silently wondering why the boy was doing more to take care of her than she of him. She sighed, took the piece of offered toast and a cup of tea, and then turned to the men who were waiting patiently for her attention.

"Are you Uzumaki Tsunade?" asked one, a toothpick hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Hai. And this is Naruto-kun," she replied, motioning to the blonde boy. Naruto handed them their cups of tea and then took his own. She didn't realize until she looked at him that he was still dressed as a girl. She shrugged, deciding not to correct herself in front of the men.

"Ah, yes. We met at the door," said the other with a raised brow. A large scar adorned his face, yet seemed to fit him. "I'm Raidou, and my partner is Genma. We received a call from the hospital about your request?"

"Hai," she replied. "Why don't we move to the living room? I'm sure it will be more comfortable for all of us in there rather than standing around here."

And so she took her painkiller, and then they all settled down in the living room. The grown ups discussed and read and wrote signatures on papers that were passed around. Naruto said not a word the whole time, causing Tsunade to worry despite the fact that she needed to concentrate on the matter at hand. She'd have thought he'd put up a little more resistance than this, but she decided to wait to question the blonde until after the two men had left.

When the annoying doorbell had awakened her, it had been around 10:00. They didn't finish until nearly 3:00 in the afternoon. Even after they left, Naruto had yet to make a noise. She'd left the boy in the living room, escorting the men out of her house. She returned now and looked at her nephew from the doorway. He looked tired and oddly expressionless, if not, a little forlorn. She frowned sadly at his appearance. She approached him slowly, sitting down by him and put an arm around his shoulders, pulling the boy to her in a hopefully comforting manner.

"Naruto, I…" she said, leaning her head to rest upon his, "I'm sorry. I never imagined any of this would ever happen. I'm sorry about your mom, your dad, everything. I know you don't want to leave your mom, but you and I both know she's not capable enough to take care of you, let alone herself. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. You've been hurt enough in your life."

She felt him shaking under her arm, and suddenly his head was buried in her chest while hot tears poured from his cerulean eyes. She embraced him and let him cry. He deserved to be able to let it all out.

She squeezed him tighter, hearing him mumbling, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault," and things of the like at intervals between his ragged breathing. She shushed him, comforted him and held him. She told him everything would be all right, that it wasn't his fault. She rubbed circles on his back in a soothing way and kissed his forehead and stroked his hair.

They wouldn't have to deal with school the next day either if needed. If Naruto wanted to stay home, she would gladly let him, but she hoped Naruto would be all right soon. She couldn't let his education be neglected much more than it already was. But that was the least of her worries.

While she was mostly preoccupied with calming the sobbing blonde boy in her lap at the moment, her mind still wondered at something concerning him. What would he do now if he wasn't living with his mother anymore? And how would he adjust if he changed back?

* * *

**A/N:** Omg, I'm soooo soorryyyy! This is such a sucky way to update, and it wasn't any better than the last! I wrote and rewrote this as best I could and I still don't like it! Graaah! Gosh, there's enough angst and depressingness here for a while. I hate how depressing this has become, but it needs to be this way for plot's sake. Yumi's not going to come in much more, well obviously since she's in the hospital, but just in case that went over your head. Yeah. 

I thank you all dearly for all the reviews, and if you don't review, then I thank you dearly for reading anyway. I truly don't deserve your love for this chapter. It's the crappyist thing I could have made for you all, but I wanted something out there. Please excuse my selfishness in that decision. Hopefully I'll be able to make the next chapter a little happier. I made a one-shot too while I was neglecting this chapter, and it's very cute. So go read that for something happy if you didn't like this, please. Again, reviews, as much as I don't deserve them right now, would make me very happy. Flames are thoroughly accepted for this occasion. Thank you everyone for reading or reviewing and I'll see you all next chapter whenever I happen to get it up.

**Disclaimer:** don't own it, never will


	10. Chapter 10

It was Monday now. Naruto hadn't done much over the weekend. He'd missed Friday, when the men came over to discuss who he would be living with. So he and Tsunade had the whole weekend to themselves, which he appreciated. They didn't do much else. They got his things from his house and brought them to Tsunade's house with the help of Shizune. On Sunday, the blonde woman had gone out by herself for a long while and was brought back, nearly drunk, by Jiraiya. The old pervert had talked to him for a little while after they sent Tsunade to bed, but he had to leave soon enough. It was nice to talk to the man despite the fact that he threw perverted jokes into the conversation all the time.

He was still dressed as a girl with a bra, a small orange sweatshirt with a blue swirl on the back, and jeans. Why should he change into a boy so suddenly? Everyone knew him as a girl, so what was wrong with continuing to let them think that?

Sighing, he walked into the school from the parking lot where Tsunade had dropped him off. He wanted to act as normal as possible. He didn't want to worry anyone, and if they asked him why, he didn't quite know what to say. His mom was in the hospital because she stabbed herself after his alter ego Kyuubi told her that she was a horrible mother? That didn't sound like it would go over too well. And it was sure to raise even more questions.

Naruto made it to his first period much earlier than usual, and not many people were there. He made his way to his seat, sat down, and laid his head down to his arms with his eyes closed. Sleep sounded so good right about then since he hadn't gotten much over the weekend. He was just about to drift off into oblivion when a quiet voice startled him.

"Naruko-chan!" Hinata said with a surprised voice. She had a pleasant smile on her face, showing she was glad to see her friend actually at school. It seemed like forever ago since he'd seen everyone. Since he and Sasuke made a truce and he introduced everyone to the boy. Naruto smiled at the shy girl.

"Hey Hinata-chan, how are you?" he said in reply. She took her seat beside him.

"I'm f-fine. How are you though? Y-you've been gone from school a lot lately," Hinata asked. Concern shone in her pale eyes and Naruto smiled weakly.

"Just a…relapse," he lied quickly. "I guess I wasn't quite over my sickness. But I'm feeling much better now."

"That's good," she said in relief. Naruto nodded with a smile and then spotted Iruka walking into the classroom. He stood.

"I've got to collect what I missed, be right back," he said with a smile. Hinata nodded in understanding. He walked up to the teacher and stopped before the desk where the brunette was currently organizing his papers and desk.

"Ohayo Iruka-sensei," he said, gaining the other's attention. Iruka gave him a warm smile.

"Good morning to you as well Naruko-san. Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

"Yes much better. I had a small relapse on Friday, so that's why I wasn't here," Naruto replied.

"Right, so you need the work from Friday? I'll get it for you, just wait a minute." The brunette looked through a pile of papers looking for one that he had put Naruto's name on. It didn't take very long, and he handed the blonde the paper he had been looking for.

"We were discussing themes and symbols in the books we've read and took some notes. You'll want to get those since there will be some questions about them on the test. Also we filled in this character and plot sheet. You won't have to turn it in, but it would be a good idea to do it so you'll be prepared," Iruka explained. "Oh, and if you have the homework from last week, please turn it in. It'll be counted as late for you if you don't hand it in today."

"Okay. Thanks Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. He went back to his seat, rummaged through his bag for the homework, went back to his teacher to hand it to him, and then sat back by Hinata.

"So did I miss anything while I was gone?" he asked.

"Not really. N-Neji-san and Gaara-san invited us to sit with them, and Ino-chan and her friends have come to sit with us as well," Hinata told him. "Sakura-chan and Ino-chan seemed to be…getting along better on Friday though."

"That's great," Naruto said happily. "Maybe if they start talking some more, they'll forget that stupid fight over Sasuke-teme."

"I-I don't know about that, but I hope they d-do," Hinata said with a small smile. Her eyes looked beyond the blonde, focusing on the person there. "Oh, o-ohayo Uchiha-san."

Naruto turned quickly to see Sasuke sitting down beside him. He hadn't noticed the other come into the room. He frowned. Normally, from what he'd seen before everything happened, Sasuke was at school earlier than him everyday. He noticed the small bandage on his cheek as well. Did he get in a fight?

"Hey teme, what happened to your face?" he said casually when Sasuke finally looked over at him. Although he was friends with the bastard didn't mean he would be admitting he was concerned about him.

"Hey dobe. Planning to stay for a whole week this time?" Sasuke returned with a smirk. The exchange of insults sounded less harsh and more like friendly banter since their truce, and Hinata had picked up on the fact. She was glad they were making the attempt, and was hoping for the best.

"You make it sound like I skip school all the time," Naruto said accusingly. Arguing, even if wasn't seriously, made him feel a little better. He was feeling a little more like himself as his mind drifted from the thoughts that had been plaguing him before, for which, he was grateful.

"Well it does seem to be a new trend with you," Sasuke replied. The blonde rolled his eyes.

"True, but I actually have legitimate reasons for my absence. Did you really miss me all that much?" he said, batting his eyes at the Uchiha who made a face of disgust at the suggestion.

"You wish, Uzumaki," he said. Naruto simply laughed at that, completely forgetting his worries. It felt like it had been forever since he'd laughed like that. With school and friends as a distraction, he was sure he could make it through the day. He glanced at the clock. They only had a few more minutes until the bell rang.

"So seriously, what happened to your face? I thought it was supposed to stay flawless for all your little rabid fangirls," he asked again. He was just curious. That was it. Sasuke scowled a little.

"I was careless and Itachi hit me," he told them. The other two had wide eyes at the statement, obviously thinking the worst. He saw the expressions and rolled his eyes. Before they could ask him anything, he answered, "Itachi trains me in his spare time so I can defend myself. I want to be in the police force like him, so I need to learn how to fight anyway. I usually get a couple cuts or bruises since I tell him not to go easy on me. I'm just not strong enough yet."

He went quiet after that, receding into his own thoughts. Understanding went through Hinata and Naruto as they processed what he'd said. It made sense that Sasuke would want to be in the police force. His brother was in it, so it also made sense that Itachi was training him. Naruto was certain Itachi wasn't a bad man from all the stories Deidara had told him before, and felt bad for doubting it. He'd even met the man, and he'd seemed completely likeable despite his businesslike manner. Of course Sasuke was telling the truth. He also understood what the boy felt about his parent's murder, and learning how to fight and defend himself wasn't exactly unexpected. After all, the Uchiha seemed like the type to hate being weak and helpless no matter what the situation. Naruto sympathized with him, but refused to show it. The bell rang soon after and class started, marking the beginning of another mundane school day.

* * *

Lunch came around and Naruto found himself surrounded by his friends. He normally got around and knew a lot of people, but it'd been a while since he'd sat with a group of them this size. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji had joined them; Ino was determined not to lose in the battle for Sasuke's affections against Sakura. Hinata and Sakura were there too, as he expected, since they had moved from the roof to the cafeteria. Gaara, Sasuke, and Neji, who had all been there first, were there as well.

Neji had left for a little in the beginning, saying he had to speak with someone in the student council about something or other. None of them knew what about, but he'd said it wasn't a big issue or anything. Kiba had come over after he left and he talked with everyone. He was a social person and normally as loud as Naruto could be. They had done a lot of pranks together when they were younger, and still liked to do stupid things together every once in a while. He had two upside down red triangle tattoos on his cheeks that he'd gotten one summer in one of his rebellious acts against his parents, and he hadn't regretted getting them yet. His family owned a dog shop as well, and he normally took his dog, Akamaru everywhere with him, though it had taken a lot of convincing to make him leave the puppy at home while he was at school. He'd sneak him in occasionally, but not as much as before.

The whole time he was talking with everyone, he'd stayed suspiciously close to Hinata. The shy girl didn't seem to mind too much, and was in fact even enjoying, it if the light blush gracing her cheeks was anything to go by. Naruto, Sakura, and Ino all subtly poked fun at the love struck teens who were too shy to admit their feelings for the other. Hinata blushed on a regular basis and got flustered easily, but Naruto had to admit teasing Kiba and making him embarrassed was fun. His reactions were full of stuttering, red cheeks, and arm gestures moving in spastic motions. It was quite funny to watch, and the others enjoyed the spectacle immensely. Unfortunately Kiba left when he spotted Neji returning. He was scared of the boy since Neji had become protective of his cousin. He didn't seem to like the dog boy all that much in the first place, without him making a move on Hinata.

It all felt normal, and Naruto had fun. It was like he wasn't just gone for a week, like his mother hadn't attempted suicide, like everything was fine and nothing in the world was even remotely wrong. He enjoyed every second of it while his mind was away from the depressing thoughts that now inhabited it. He went on for the next few days without anyone really noticing anything was wrong either, as he had hoped they wouldn't. But his hopes were crushed as Sasuke, of all people, spoke out at lunch on Thursday. Naruto snapped out of his thoughts to look at the brunette with a blank face. "Huh?"

"I asked what was wrong. You've been too quiet all week. Normally you're bouncing off the walls and yelling in everyone's ear," Sasuke said. Everyone around them hushed as they heard Sasuke speak and Naruto rolled his eyes. It's like he's a freaking god the way they all listen to him.

"So what's wrong dobe?"

"Nothing's wrong teme," Naruto replied with a frown. Was he really that transparent? But no one else had noticed. "I'm acting the same as I always do."

"You have been a little quieter lately, Naruko-chan," Sakura said slowly with a thoughtful look on her face. A few faces turned to look at him with concern and he frowned a little more before giving them a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, really. Just…stressed from catching up on all the work I've missed I guess," he told them. He couldn't tell who bought it and who didn't. He hoped they all did, but the logical part of his mind seriously doubted it. All his friends were very bright. He'd have to be an extremely great actor to fool them, and a good actor he was not. So he opted to change the subject.

"So…anyone want to help me with my math homework? I'm so confused," he asked. Other conversations started up immediately while Sakura and Ino both attempted to help him with the equations he was working on. He could feel Sasuke's eyes on him, but whenever he looked up, the boy was looking the other way.

* * *

"Hey dobe," Sasuke said as they walked out of chemistry.

"What?"

The dark haired boy pulled Naruto off to the side of the hall where the moving students wouldn't shove them around. He looked down at the cross-dressing boy and asked, "What's really wrong?"

"Wha-? Sasuke I already told you a lunch, I'm just under a little bit of stress right now from all the work I've got," Naruto told him. He tried to move away to get to his next class, but Sasuke blocked his path. They glared at each other.

"You're lying. I can tell, so tell me the truth," Sasuke said.

"I am telling the truth teme, now let me go to class," Naruto grumbled, trying to get around the other once again. He was stopped again.

"Then look me in the eyes and tell me," Sasuke demanded, putting his hands on Naruto's shoulders to keep him there. The blonde stared at him defiantly and both refused to lose. Eventually Naruto looked away and tried to, unsuccessfully, shove his way around the boy again. Finally, seeing that he wasn't going anywhere unless Sasuke let him, he heaved a defeated sigh.

"Let me go teme, I'm going to be late," he stated tiredly. He didn't want anyone to know anything was actually wrong, and Sasuke was just making everything harder than it needed to be.

"Not unless you tell me what's got you so bothered," the dark haired boy replied. Naruto gave him one last glare and removed Sasuke's hands from his shoulders. He refused to tell him the complete truth, so the teme would have to just settle with what he gave.

"If it will make you let me go, fine. My mom is in the hospital, teme. That's why I wasn't here on Friday. I wasn't sick. She was dying. And she's still there now, and I haven't gotten to visit her since she first got there and I really am just stressed about everything. There's your reason. Happy?" he said. He could feel the telltale sting behind his eyes, but he blinked back the tears.

He was frustrated about everything by now, and it all just seemed so overwhelming. Tsunade hadn't let him go to the hospital again, saying they were going on the weekend. He'd thought about going by himself, but it was a thirty-minute drive there and he couldn't drive. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see her, but he had decided he should. He was the reason for putting her there.

Sasuke let him go and he ran down the halls to his next class, still holding back his tears. Sasuke just stared after him without a word.

* * *

Naruko walked into class the next day and took her seat beside Sasuke and Hinata. Sasuke could tell she was miffed about something, and he could only guess she was mad at him from the way she had been avoiding and ignoring him since yesterday when he'd cornered him. He sighed mentally. Sakura had asked him to confront her about what might be bothering the blonde, although he had no idea why she would think that he would be able to get anything out of Naruko. But Apparently, he was able to, and he'd told Sakura what Naruko had told him. He kept telling himself he was only asking what was wrong because Sakura wanted him to, but then he was confused as to why he was doing anything for the pinkette in the first place. He was concerned too, but he refused to admit it.

"H-hello Naruko-chan. How are you?" Hinata said as her friend kissed her cheek in greeting as usual before settling down. Naruko looked firmly away from Sasuke who rolled his eyes.

"Hey Hinata-chan. I'm good. Ready for this week to be over. How are you?" she asked.

"I-I'm well," Hinata replied with a smile. She looked between Naruko and Sasuke, noticing them each ignoring the other and frowned a little. "Did you t-two get in a fight?"

"Teme annoyed me yesterday so I'm ignoring the prick," Naruko told her.

"All I did was ask you what was wrong dobe. No need to get mad over something like that," Sasuke said flatly. Naruko continued ignoring him, and for some reason, that really annoyed the dark haired boy. Childishly, he decided if the blonde was going to ignore him, he would ignore her as well.

And ignore each other they did throughout the day. By the end of the day Sasuke was good and frustrated with the blonde girl, but refused to acknowledge her before she acknowledged him. He was at his locker grumbling about dobe blondes and how they were such bakas when a pink haired girl appeared next to him. She grinned at him with a slight flush on her face.

"Hey Sasuke-kun. Thanks for talking with Naruko-chan. Everyone else should be waiting with her in the parking lot. We were wondering if you were still coming since you both seemed like you were ignoring each other today," she asked quickly. Sasuke finished getting his things and closed the locker before looking at the pinkette, thinking whether he should or not. Well Itachi wouldn't be home until late and he was always telling him to be more social…

"Yeah, she's mad at me for asking her too many questions or something stupid. But I guess I could still go. I don't really have much else to do and it'd probably annoy her if I'm there," he said thoughtfully. Sakura raised an eyebrow at that.

"Isn't that a bad thing?" she asked. He shrugged in response and she sighed.

"Whatever. You two need to figure that out. I'm sure she'll forget she's mad at you soon enough anyway. Neji and Gaara are driving, so come on," she said. He followed after her as she blabbered on about something or other. He wasn't paying attention. They got there soon enough, and after Naruko's initial cry of indignation at his presence before she went back to ignoring him, they had all gotten into the two cars and headed off to Gaara's house.

Without the blonde girl's knowledge, everyone at the lunch table had all planned to give her a day of fun, now that they knew something was getting her down. They were planning on renting some movies, and all agreed to going to Gaara's house to watch them and possibly just play around. Ino had gone down to Tsunade, having heard that Naruko was staying with her for now after Sasuke told them what the blonde had said, and told the woman of their plan. She had agreed wholeheartedly that Naruko needed a day to relax and enjoy time with friends, and she agreed not to say anything about it as a surprise.

Now they were at Gaara's sitting around the living room while the Subaku siblings put out food and drinks for everyone. The others were deciding on which movie they should watch first. Many suggestions were made until finally they settled on The Grudge for some odd reason. Gaara was a big horror movie fan, although he wasn't scared easily. Most of the girls, with the exception of Temari who was used to movies like that, were rather jumpy by the end of it.

"Why'd we have to watch that, Gaaraaaa?" Naruko said, her voice muffled by the pillow her face was buried in. She looked up at the red head with a pout. "You know I don't like scary movies!"

"Yes, but you're cute when you're scared and otouto likes it when you're cute," Temari told her with a smirk. Gaara glared at his sister, fighting the blush that tried to work its way onto his face. Naruko of course took the comment innocently, missing what it hinted at, and stared at the siblings with a confused look on her face.

Sasuke sat back watching the three, not really sure why he found it so interesting, although he was subtly glaring at a certain red head. He didn't want to really participate in any of the conversations and would answer anything directed at him with short, clipped responses that would end the attempted conversation as quickly as it started. He was still annoyed with the blonde and they had yet to speak to each other. He frowned. Could she really be that mad at him for asking? Yeah, her mom was in the hospital, but lots of people went there. Then again, she'd said her mom was dying. From what she'd told him before, and besides Tsunade, her mother was the last of her close family.

"Okay, you guys got to watch something you wanted to, now us girls are going to pick!" Sakura declared.

"Which means I'm going to pick," Temari said, standing up. She walked over to the movie selections and picked one up with a smirk. "And I pick Saw 3."

The girls groaned, having known what Temari would pick. Kiba whooped at the prospect of watching another scary movie as the blonde popped it into the DVD player. Hinata sat beside him on the large couch and occasionally latched onto him during particularly gory parts, which he took pleasure in, despite the fact that Neji also sat beside the dark haired girl to make sure Kiba didn't do anything to his cousin. Ino and Sakura had huddled together on the love seat during the last movie, despite their continuing argument, in search of comfort from the movie while Temari sat on the floor in front of them. Shikamaru was sprawled out in the armchair and seemed like he was sleeping. Choji sat in front of the brunette on the floor, munching away on a large bowl of popcorn. Naruko sat on the floor clutching a pillow with Sasuke and Gaara on either side of her. Or at least she had been.

They weren't too far into the movie before she had gotten up and walked out into the red head's kitchen, saying she was going to get a drink. Sasuke watched her leave. Temari poked his and motioned for him to come closer to her. He did so hesitantly, and she leaned close to his ear to tell him something only he could hear.

"I've heard you're a bit of a jerk from Naruko-chan, but," she whispered, momentarily pausing to keep him from protesting what she was saying, "but from what I can tell, you're a friend of hers and you two have gotten into a fight as I've heard from Sakura-chan. Now would probably be a good time to make up with her, Uchiha. She probably won't come back for the rest of the movie."

She moved back to her spot and resumed watching the movie ignoring the Sasuke's stare. He sighed and got up, deciding to take the blonde's word. The movie was boring him, and he wouldn't admit it, but he didn't particularly enjoy watching movies like this. It reminded him too much of his parents in some twisted way. Besides, he might have more fun annoying Naruko.

Into the kitchen he went, and there he found the blonde tentatively sipping a glass of water while staring off into space. She looked oddly serene yet serious, obviously in deep thought about something or other. He made his way over to her and she still hadn't noticed him even when he was next to her. He leaned against the counter like she was doing and decided to make himself known. "What are you doing dobe?"

Naruko's face lit up in surprise with wide eyes as she looked at him. "Sasuke…" she said quietly. She recovered quickly enough and glared at him as she registered what he'd asked her. "I'm drinking, teme. What does it look like?"

Sasuke shrugged. She really was still mad at him. For some reason, he really didn't want her to be mad at him. She looked away and he stayed where he was, silence engulfing them for a few minutes until she couldn't take it anymore. She sighed finally, looking at her glass.

"What are you doing here teme?" she asked. There was no annoyance in the question, no tone, good or bad, to her voice. She just asked it, plain and simple. He shrugged again.

"I don't really like those kinds of movies," he told her truthfully.

"Neither do I," she replied. They lapsed into silence again, but this time it was a little more comfortable. Naruko broke it again.

"So…are you just gonna stay out here for the rest of the movie?"

"Probably. But I figured you might want a little company," Sasuke replied. She smiled and laughed a little at that.

"Not something I expected you to say," she explained as she saw his frown, "but thanks for caring."

"That's what friends do, right?" Sasuke said. She looked up at him, but he was looking off in the other direction as if he were embarrassed to have said it. He was trying, and she could tell. She smiled and looked back down at her glass, swirling the water around a little.

"Yeah. That's what friends do," she said. She looked back up at him. "Sorry for getting mad at you. I just frustrated about a lot of things. I'm fine, honestly."

"It's alright. And if you don't mind, I told Sakura-san your mom is in the hospital. She's the one that suggested everyone get together and have a little fun. You seemed like you needed it," Sasuke told her. He held her gaze and smiled a little. She was really starting to grow on him. She grinned back at him.

"That's okay," she said. "Thanks teme."

He continued to smile and said, "You're welcome dobe."

She laughed, and Sasuke was glad to hear it. He knew he'd rather have her happy than anything else, although he'd never admit it aloud.

* * *

"We're here Naruto," Tsunade said as she turned off the engine, knocking the male from his thoughts. He got out of the car hurriedly and they walked through the automatic doors to the reception desk. After telling them which room to go to, they left for it quickly. Naruto was anxious and happy at the same time as he saw the door to his mother's room. It was the first time he'd get to see his mother since she'd arrived, and this time she'd be awake. He stopped before going in, his hand on the handle of the door. He looked up at his aunt with wide eyes.

"What am I going to say? I-I don't even know-"

Tsunade cut him off, shaking her head. She put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, saying, "I'll be right there with you. Don't worry."

Naruto sighed, nodded, and opened the door. He took another deep breath as he stepped in which was stolen away as he saw his mother looking straight at him. He was still dressed as a girl, but they were more boyish clothes than normal. As he met her eyes, he almost wanted to walk right back out, but he knew he had to see her. He looked away from her eyes and moved to his mother's bed.

"Mom, it's great to see you're doing well," he said as he hugged her. He pulled a chair close to her side and sat in it. "I wanted to come sooner, but I had to catch up on so much work this week. You know how school is."

She continued to stare at him, but now she had on a confused smile.

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry, honey. What's your name again? I don't believe we've met before," Yumi said finally.

"Wh-what?" Naruto said with wide eyes. He looked to his aunt who refused to meet his eyes. She'd said his mom was acting differently, but she'd neglected to tell him this.

"I've never seen you before. At least I don't think I have. I have such a bad memory these days that I can't seem to recognize anyone. Quite unfortunate really," Yumi went on. She was smiling at the pair and looked at Naruto with interest, as though she were looking at a complete stranger.

"I-I…you don't recognize me?" he said slowly, not quite comprehending the situation.

"Not at all," she said chirpily. She saw the look on his face and became concerned quickly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad, honey. I just can't remember some things right now. Maybe if you tell me your name, I'll remember you."

"You'll remember me…" he said to himself before looking into the woman's eyes. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto."

She thought hard, but eventually a frown found its place on her lips. "I'm sorry, but I just don't remember. I know Tsunade-chan's last name is Uzumaki. Are you related to her?"

He nodded his head and then looked tiredly up at his aunt, about ready to cry at this point. His own mother had forgotten him. He got up.

"E-excuse me for a minute. I need to ask Tsunade-chan something outside," he said. The blonde woman took the hint and walked out after giving a wave and a smile to the other woman. Naruto followed after her. She sighed and looked at her nephew's distraught expression.

"I didn't know if she'd remember you or not, so I decided not to say anything. You didn't need anything else to worry about. That's why I wouldn't let you see her until now," she explained. He frowned.

"You could have warned me, or something," he said angrily. He sighed and his expression turned into one of concern. "What happened to her? And what's she remember anyway? She knows you apparently."

"I'm not sure what happened, but according to the doctor it has something to do with shock. Her mind isn't letting her remember hurtful memories, which, in turn, prevents her from remembering you apparently. I don't know if she remember Arashi or not, but I'm thinking she doesn't," Tsunade explained. "At the moment, I know she remembers her friendship with me and everything before that."

"But she doesn't remember me…or dad," he stated more than asked. The woman nodded solemnly.

"She knows she doesn't remember everything. The doctors have even told her she has amnesia, so it's not as though she has a new set of memories to fill up the times she's had with you," Tsunade told him. "Maybe you could use this to start over with her. Think about it. I'm going to go talk to her, so come in when you're ready."

Naruto looked at her tiredly as she went back into the room. This whole situation was getting more and more confusing, and it just drained all his energy. He thought about what his aunt said. If he really could start over with his mom, what would he do? What would he even say to her?

But if he could…maybe that would be a good thing. He could start over…yes. That's what he would do. He'd reintroduce himself to his mother and finally be able to be as he wanted in front of her without worrying about what she would do. He smiled softly at the thought and nodded his head, confirming his decision. He walked back into the room, completely collected and calm as he saw his mother again. He approached her, and Tsunade moved from the chair by Yumi's bedside. And so, Naruto began to rebuild his relationship with his mother, starting with telling her that he was her son.

* * *

It was Monday yet again and students slowly milled into the building of education. It was finally beginning to get really cold out now that it was mid-December and everyone was bundling up. It'd been only mildly cold until now, but winter decided to come late this year. It was expected to snow soon, and students silently prayed for snow days in which they could finally have an extra day or two off from school. Naruto skipped merrily into the school in bright contrast to the rest of the student body. He'd been talking with his mother as often as he could, meaning almost every weekend, since last month. They'd gotten close since Yumi had been told that he was her son. She greeted the idea enthusiastically and was hell-bent on learning everything about her son that she could. He loved the attention, but he was careful on the subject of his father and the reason for his absence.

He and Tsunade had talked about it and decided it would be better for her to not know the bloody details of what had happened to him, lest they conjure up the memories that had made her unstable all those years. So they'd told her simply that he was a brave and amazing policeman who'd been unfortunately killed in the line of duty. They gave no other details than that. They made it as truthful as possible without giving anything away, and Yumi had accepted it.

She'd also questioned about Naruto's cross-dressing, and he'd told her it was just a phase. He told her she had liked to dress him up sometimes and they had fun with it. It wasn't a complete truth, but it explained the situation to Yumi, and she'd accepted that as well. She'd also mentioned how cute he looked as a girl, but that she loved him as a boy.

He walked into homeroom with Hinata and Sasuke already there waiting for him. He smiled and greeted them both with a kiss on the cheek like he did with all his close friends. He and Sasuke had both gotten close over the past month as well. They'd spent more time together and Naruto would go over occasionally to have dinner with them when Deidara visited as well.

In Naruto's world, everything was going great. He had his amazing friends supporting him and having fun with, he was getting a new start with his mother, and Sakura and Ino seemed to be getting along like they had been before. It was perfect. That is, until lunch came around on this particular Monday.

He'd heard from Hinata that Neji was talking about a new student in their grade. He'd said that it was a guy, but that he seemed…weird, for lack of a better word. He'd also informed Hinata that the guy was supposed to sit with them at lunch since he was new and didn't know anyone. Naruto had asked about the guy's name, and Hinata just told him that Neji hadn't said what it was before he had to leave for another student council meeting. So now it was lunch, and everyone was eating, waiting for Neji to show up with the new guy. Eventually Neji showed up, but he didn't have anyone with him.

"Hey Neji, I thought you said the new kid was gonna sit with us," Naruto said in confusion as the brunette took his place at the table. Kiba was sitting with them again, crowding their table even more. They only had enough space for one more person, and that would have to be the new kid.

"There's a new guy? What's his name?" Sakura asked, voicing everyone else's curiosity.

"His name is Sai, if I remember correctly," Neji replied. "And he told me he would meet us here. I told him where to find the table, so he should be here any minute."

There was a thud as Sasuke's head hit the table, startling everyone. Naruto seemed the only one not surprised anymore by the random bouts of emotion the brunette showed. He encouraged him not to be so up tight about everything and to show what he was feeling, and Sasuke was slowly becoming more and more comfortable with the idea. Even so, Naruto found himself concerned at this certain display.

"What's wrong Sasu-chan?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Sasuke glared up at the cross-dressing boy.

"I told you not to call me that," he said from his position on the table. Naruto pouted.

"But Dei-chan calls you Sasu-chan all the time! Why can't I?" he demanded.

"Because it's embarrassing and Deidara-niisan doesn't do it in public!" Sasuke replied.

"So?" Naruto huffed. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Neji-saaaan, where are you?" a voice called out.

"Oh no," Sasuke said as his eyes widened a little in recognition.

"There you are!" the voice said. It came from a boy who appeared behind Sasuke and Naruto dressed in a tight shirt, a black skirt, neon green knee-highs, and boots. Everyone was stunned at the clothing he wore after hearing that he was indeed a boy. The boy peered around to get a better look at Sasuke's suddenly pale face. His face lit up in a big grin.

"Sasu-chan! I _thought_ I'd see you here," he said happily. Sasuke's head hit the table again.

"Hey Sai," he grumbled as the boy reached down to hug him.

* * *

**A/N:** Um…yeah, don't kill me about Sai. I love him, I really do. And he's probably going to be very out of character in this since I really don't know how to write him well. Yes, Sai will wear skirts throughout the rest of this story when he appears, although, I think I may put him in pants once or twice. So yeah, Sai's here and he's a cross-dresser. Bet none of you saw that coming! Haha!

Anywho, I'm soooooooooo sorry!! It really has been forever since I've even looked at this and sometimes when I did, I couldn't write anything. I'm so horrible. I've neglected my poor story and my poor readers have been kept waiting. I'm so sorry!! I don't know when I'll have the next chapter done either, but I've had so much going on lately. I may finish the next chapter soon, or it may not be for another two weeks. I'm not sure. I have to put most of my focus on my school's musical since we're finally putting everything together and the opening show is in two weeks. Gosh, that's soon. So I'll really try to work on this in between rehearsals, school, homework, and anything else that's bound to come up. I never meant to wait this long, and I really hope you all liked this chapter although I thinks it's a little awkwardly written. I was rushing a bit to finally get it out.

I really like what I did with Yumi as well, but she won't be in this much more, as I've said before. I'm really happy with how I'm writing her now, though. And I must say I love how I'm writing Sai now as well, even if it's completely incorrect. Please forgive me my misgivings and my lateness in getting this out to all of you. Please review and give my story some love to revive it, okay? They make me happy.

**Disclaimer:** don't own Naruto, and never will. Sad, I know.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto pouted, completely unbothered by the fact that the boy currently hugging the Uchiha was dressed in a skirt seeing as he wore skirts all the time, and said, "He calls you Sasu-chan too! Why can't I?"

"Because I've known him for most of his life 'til he moved away. Plus he doesn't like fan girls giving him nicknames," Sai replied, a bit of an edge to his voice. Sasuke had sat up by now, but Sai refused to let go. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah no. I'm not a fan girl, believe it. I wouldn't think of a teme like him as dateable any time soon. We're friends, but that's as far as I take it," he told him.

"Really? Wow," Sai said, looking at the boy in his grip, "you finally managed to find a girl that isn't falling head over heels for you. Good for you."

"Gee, thanks," Sasuke replied as he finally wriggled his way out of the boy's death grip and turned to him. Naruto remember Itachi saying something similar when they'd met back then. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Fighting with my relatives and getting tossed around some more. It doesn't really matter cause I never really like any of them. But the ones I'm with now seem pretty good. Haven't said a word about the skirts, but I don't know if that's because they're too shocked or disgusted to bring it up or if they're actually okay with it. But whatever, at least I found you again," Sai told him. Sasuke shrugged. He seemed fine now that it was just a normal conversation. Or at least normal for them. The subject just made the others curious, although a couple background conversations had started after the initial shock of Sai's arrival.

"I've been visiting you, haven't I? It's not like I moved very far away," Sasuke said.

"True. But I missed teasing you everyday," Sai said with a wink. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sai went to sit next to Sasuke and the others moved over, giving him a chair. "So introduce me. You seem so buddy-buddy with everyone here; I just have to know who actually introduced you to so many people. Normally you're so broody and don't make any friends."

"I'm not broody," Sasuke said, keeping the whine out of his voice. Naruto could almost hear the pout that failed to show as well. He giggled, which caught Sai's attention.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh nothing. When I first met him, my impression was that he was a broody prick, so it's just funny that even someone who's known him can say he's like that," said the blonde with a shrug. Sai laughed at that.

"How could I not say that about him? He's always like that," he said. Naruto laughed and agreed. Sasuke was frowning and dangerously close to pouting.

"I'm right here, guys. I can hear everything you're saying," he said, glaring at both of them. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him playfully before going back to Sai.

"So you're Sai, right?" he asked. The boy nodded in confirmation. "I'm Uzumaki Naruko. I'm the one that made Sasuke-teme branch out."

"Nice to meet you," Sai said with a grin. "I think Sasu-chan's mentioned you a couple times. Something about being annoying and stubborn."

"What? Sasuke, how could you ever say that about me?" Naruto asked, faking a hurt voice.

"Well you go around telling everyone that asks about me that I'm a teme, so I thought it was only fair to return the favor by describing you accurately," Sasuke replied. The blonde pouted again.

"You're mean."

"And yet you still chose to be friends with me," Sasuke countered. Naruto rolled his eyes, and then looked over at Sai to see him smiling about something or other rather creepily. There seemed to be a strange light in his eyes, akin to recognition or a realization.

"Umm, yes?" he asked the dark haired cross-dresser.

"Nothing. Just random thoughts that make me smile, you know?" Sai replied. Naruto nodded sagely, as if he really did.

"So seriously. Introduce me to everyone. Cause I see some delicious guys sitting here just waiting for me to hit on them," Sai said suddenly. Sasuke rolled his eyes again. Naruto shrugged and called for everyone's attention at the crowded table.

"Okay so, everyone, this is Sai-kun," he said, introducing him to them properly. Sakura stood to reach over and shake his hand with a nervous smile.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you Sai-san," she said politely.

"It's good to meet you too, big forehead," the dark haired cross-dresser replied confidently. The pinkette's eye twitched; Naruto could just tell that she really wanted to explode about the comment, but was holding herself back only because it was the guy's first day, although she now had a murderous aura about her. Sai seemed completely oblivious to the fact that it was aimed at him and turned to the next person to speak to him.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino, and it's probably best if you don't say that about pinkie here. I'm the only one that gets away with it anymore," the blonde told him. Sakura then turned her glare to the girl next to her hearing the 'pinkie' comment. Ino was unaffected as Sai was and just shrugged in response to her.

"I see, I'll keep that in mind," the boy said with a seemingly innocent smile. Everyone else introduced themselves eventually. They had explained that Kiba was with them sometimes, and then with his other friends at other times. Neji had also introduced himself and Hinata, who had said a shy hello to the newcomer. After it was all over, Sai chuckled a little.

"Wow, Sasu-chan. You've got such a cute group of friends this year. Bet you haven't even gotten into any trouble since last year," Sai said.

"Itachi has me on a tighter leash since then so I haven't really done anything. Besides, blame her if they're…cute. They're her friends, she just dragged me into her group," Sasuke told him, gesturing to Naruto.

"Whatever. Oh, and congrats on finding such a cutie here. I might just have to steal him from you," Sai said with a mischievous grin.

"Who?" Sasuke asked, confused. He certainly knew who Sai might be referring to, but she wasn't a guy. And besides, Sai was a flaming gay. After all those years, he couldn't suddenly want a girl, could he?

"Naruko-san," Sai replied. Naruto turned to the two boys beside him at the sound of his alter ego's name. He tilted his head to the side, listening to what they were saying.

"Naruko-san is a girl. I thought you liked guys," Sasuke said slowly, still confused. Naruto immediately went into a panic, although he didn't let it show. Did Sai know? Was he going to tell everyone? He wasn't ready for that yet. How did he even know?

"I do. Naruko-san is a very cute one at that. Better at pulling off skirts than me, that's for sure," Sai said nonchalantly.

"Sai-san!" Naruto said quickly, before Sasuke had the chance to say anything. He drew the attention of both boys, as well as some of the other occupants of the table.

"Ah…um, I…you can't be serious can you? I mean, I'm not a boy," he said in a disbelieving voice, trying to keep it from cracking. He was so nervous. What if they didn't believe him? What if, now everyone found out before he got a chance to tell them himself? But would he ever tell them himself? As of right now, the chances of that happening were slim to none, but he would tell them when he was ready. Still…

Sai looked around at everyone and saw the desperation in Naruto's eyes that they all seemed to miss. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, giving both an answer to his thoughts and the blonde's denial.

"Nah, I'm not serious all the time. You're just special," he said with a wink in the blonde's direction. Relief flooded azure eyes as Naruto played off the comment by sticking his tongue out at the cross-dresser in a childish way. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the two and felt left out for some reason.

Near the end of lunch, Naruto had told them he was going to the nurse's office for a headache and asked Sai to walk with him since they had the same class afterwards, as they found out when Sakura had asked to look at his schedule. Sasuke watched as the two of them left and realized he had been glaring. At who, he didn't know. He had felt a strange feeling bubble up in his chest as he had seen how relaxed the blonde had been around his old friend. There seemed to be an unspoken trust between the two, and he didn't really like it. The feeling bubbled up again before he squashed it back down. His heart knew what it was, but his mind refused to recognize it was even there, that he was even capable of feeling that. No. Sasuke Uchiha couldn't possibly be jealous of his gay friend getting close to the blonde. Not at all.

* * *

"Hey obaa-chan! Shizune-chan!" Naruto called as he walked into the office. He barely dodged the sharpened pencil being thrown at him, which got stuck in the wall behind the blonde. Sai was beside him, rather unaffected by the object that had flown by him.

"I've told you not to call me that, brat," Tsunade growled, not looking up from her current paper work, thinking he was just stopping by to annoy her. She was glad he was feeling better ever since he was getting closer to his mother, she really was. But sometimes he just annoyed her for the fun of it, and it was getting rather old.

"Hey Naruko-chan," Shizune said, also not looking away from her task, which was organizing some folders in a drawer. It was also an unspoken rule to refer to the blonde as Naruko during school hours.

"Obaa-chan, Shizune-chan, this is Sai-san," Naruto said suddenly, catching the older blonde and brunette's attentions. "Sai-san, this is my aunt Tsunade-chan and her assistant Shizune-chan."

The women looked over at the pair to see Sai in all his cross-dressing glory. Both were confused as to why Naruto had brought him here, even if he were just introducing him to them. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow.

"The new student. Nice to meet you, Sai-san," she said finally.

"It's a pleasure," he replied in turn. He then looked over at Naruto. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Cause you know something you shouldn't," Naruto said simply. "Or at least, something no one should at this point."

"What? That you're a guy? I thought that was common knowledge," Sai said innocently.

"Yes, I'm a guy. But no one else knows so don't go around telling everyone I am," Naruto told him with a light glare. Tsunade and Shizune were looking on with a bit of surprise.

"Did you tell him?" Shizune asked.

"No I-"

"I figured it out. I am the same as him, although I don't think I could ever pull of being as girly as him," Sai told her. Naruto glared at him even more.

"It's not my fault," he said with a pout.

"So what? You just dress like a girl and pretend you're not a guy, and then everyone believes you're a girl? I don't really see how you could pull off fooling everyone else," Sai said, hands on his hips.

"Well it's not like they've ever seen me dressed as a boy. And I guess, like you said, you're like me so it might seem more obvious to you than to the others," Naruto said thoughtfully. Sai gave him a questioning look. And so Naruto, Tsunade, and Shizune delved into the reasons he dressed as a girl, avoiding his encounter with Snake as much as possible. Sai nodded at times, but said nothing until they were done. There was an awkward silence as they waited for Sai to respond. Naruto didn't think he would say anything bad about it, seeing as he cross dressed himself, but he couldn't help the worry that bubbled up as he waited.

"So then why don't you just dress like a guy now if you don't like it? From what you've told me, you could do it now without consequence," Sai said finally.

"I've been trying to get him to stop for a while now, but the brat hasn't listened yet," Tsunade told him. Naruto just smiled sheepishly at her before turning to the black haired boy.

"I'm just not ready for that. I mean, they've only known me as a girl ever since they met me, so I'm thinking it would be a complete shock if I suddenly came up to them and said, 'Hey guys, just thought I should let you know I've been lying to you for all these years about being a girl. I've actually been a guy the whole time!' Yeah. That would go over well," he said with a frown. "I don't think they'd even believe me unless I flashed them or something, and I'm pretty sure I would never do that."

"I guess that would be pretty shocking," Sai said bluntly, as though he were really dense enough to think that it would work. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You think?" he said.

"But I didn't say you had to do it all at once," Sai continued, ignoring the comment. This interested the blonde boy. "You'd have to tell them eventually, and yes, that will be a shock to them. But you could get them used to you looking like a boy at least by dressing more like one. There's nothing wrong for going with the tomboy-girl look."

"That's…actually a good idea, Sai-san," Tsunade said with an impressed look. She hadn't thought of that in all the years she'd been trying to get Naruto to start acting how he wanted. The dark haired boy looked at her with a bored expression, but there was smugness in his eyes that annoyed her.

"I know," he replied and then smiled an innocent smile.

"So what? I just get a complete wardrobe change and start shopping in the guy sections at stores?" Naruto asked, a little annoyed at the boy before him.

"No, just gradually stop wearing such girly clothing like skirts and dresses. And then start wearing more T-shirts and baggy jeans or whatever guys are wearing these days. Or whatever you'd wear if you were dressing as if nothing had happened to make you hide your gender. But do it gradually," he told the blonde. "If you do it like that, they'll be used to it by the time you're ready to tell them."

Naruto thought it over while Tsunade and Shizune looked at him expectantly. It seemed like the perfect solution to them. To the blonde boy, well…he could make it work. It seemed like a good enough plan. It would definitely give him time to prepare himself for telling his friends seeing as he wore a dress or a skirt at least twice a week. But he still didn't know if he even wanted his friends to ever find out. He sighed. He'd rather not tell them, but if they found out from someone other than him, it would be worse.

"That sounds…okay, I guess," he said finally, giving the verdict. Tsunade and Shizune grinned, hearing this. He was one step closer to coming out of the shell he'd locked himself in all these years.

"So then you'll do it?" Shizune asked happily.

"Yeah. You guys seem so excited about it, how could I not try?" Naruto said wearily, giving her a smile.

"Good job at convincing the stubborn brat, Sai-san," Tsunade said.

"My pleasure," Sai replied with that innocent smile of his. Naruto opened his mouth to whine at his aunt when he saw the clock and he groaned. They were going to be very late to class, and the excuse of getting medicine from the nurse might not be enough.

"I'll write you guys a pass," Tsunade said, noticing where Naruto had been looking. The blonde boy gave her a grateful look as she did so.

"Thanks, obaa-chan!" he said, avoiding a pen this time that now joined the pencil from earlier in the wall. He took the pass and left through the door before anything else could be thrown. Sai was almost out the door when the nurse stopped him.

"You had best keep the fact that Naruto-kun is a boy a secret, or I will personally hunt you down. If it gets out, and I find you are responsible, just know that you were warned," Tsunade said, her voice dangerously low in contrast to the polite smile upon her face.

"I understand. Although I think that you have mistaken Naruko-chan for someone else. I mean she is girl after all," Sai replied with his innocent smile. And with that he left to follow after the boy who was waiting for him impatiently.

Tsunade sighed as the door shut. She had a feeling that boy would get on her nerves much easier than Naruto could, and without even trying. She silently wished that the day would go by faster. That or that schools let teachers drink during school hours. She really wanted some sake now.

* * *

Sai looked at Naruto as they walked down the hall to their class and let out a small sigh. The blonde gave him a curious look, and he answered the unasked question.

"I really did think you were a girl at first, and I finally thought Sasuke-kun had really found a girl that didn't obsess over him the moment she laid eyes on him," he explained.

"There's actually couple of girls I know that haven't obsessed over him. Although I have to agree that he is good looking," Naruto replied. He continued in a quieter voice, "But how did you find out I wasn't a girl?"

"You want to know?" Sai asked. The blonde nodded. They were almost at their destination.

"You really want to know?" he asked again, teasing the blonde who was frowning by now.

"Yes I want to know," he said.

"Really?" Sai asked again, slowly, drawing it out and successfully annoying the boy even more.

"Yes, just tell me already you prick," Naruto said, through being toyed with. Suddenly he found himself, against the wall next to the door they would go through to their next class, with Sai's face only a few centimeters away from his. He shivered feeling the dark haired boy's breath on his lips, and all he could think was, oh shit.

Sai smirked at seeing the surprised expression. This boy would be very fun to play with, especially seeing how close Sasuke was to him. Because Sasuke was always fun to taunt, and dangling the thing Sasuke wanted (even though he may not have known he wanted it) seemed the perfect thing to do. He leaned even closer, nearly closing the distance between them.

"It's a secret," he whispered finally, his lips nearly on top of the other boy's. And just as suddenly as he'd had Naruto against the wall, he was on his way through the door they were next to with that innocent smile of his in place. Naruto stared at the door incredulously, not believing Sai had just been close enough to kiss him. He didn't want his first kiss stolen by Sai!

Sai's head poked out of the door. "You have the pass, and the teacher requires that you give it to him, so if you don't mind…" he said, and then he disappeared back into the room. Naruto narrowed his eyes and sighed heavily. Grumbling about stupid guys having issues with personal space, he entered the room finally to give the pass to the teacher.

* * *

Sasuke was seething at the moment. He wasn't quite sure why, but he knew it was because of Sai. Or maybe it was Naruko. Or maybe it was just both of them in general because of the situation he'd caught them in. Whoever it was he was mad at, he didn't care. All he knew was, they better be ready for a bitchy Sasuke.

All he'd been doing was walking innocently down the hall to the bathroom. He wasn't on the other side of the school from where his class was. He wasn't doing it just to walk past the nurse's office and see if Sai and Naruto had left yet. No. He was just doing it for the exercise. For the pure enjoyment of walking around free from his class because he had a pass. Of course, he had to pass the nurse's office on his way, but what did that matter?

He saw no blonde or black as he passed aside from the nurse and her assistant. And he kept walking as if he hadn't just looked for his friends in there intentionally. He just glanced over and happened to notice they weren't there, that's all. So he continued down the hall. In the next hall, after this turn he would find the bathroom he was looking for. No it was not near Naruko's classroom, and no he did not know it was there because he'd looked at the room number after Naruko had happened to mention that Sai was in that class with her. And he most definitely was not going to look for them as he passed by.

But he didn't even get a chance to not look in the window of the doorway for them because as soon as he'd rounded the corner he saw them. He stopped dead still, and watched as Sai kissed the blonde, who was currently up against the wall. He didn't even stay to see what happened after that. He just turned on his heel and walked back toward his class. He wasn't running away, he just changed his mind about going to that bathroom. He just decided the one near his classroom was much better. Of course it was.

Suddenly the image flashed in his mind again and he frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing in a glare that was directed at anything and everything. He stopped a little bit away from the door to his class, attempting to calm himself.

Why should he be mad? His friend was gay and Naruko was a girl. He knew she wasn't with anyone, but he certainly thought her too annoying to stand as anything more than a friend. If they wanted to have a nice little make out session on their first day of meeting each other, who was he to say they couldn't. No, he didn't care at all. He didn't care. That's what he told himself, and that's what he would believe. As long as his mind was shouting louder than his heart, at least.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes! I finally got it done! I stopped right in the middle of the explanation to Sai and took a break from writing because I had homework piling up, so sorry if that seems badly written. Actually, sorry if any of this is badly written in general for the whole story. I like how it's turning out, but some places…I don't like how it's written. I might go back and redo them one day, but probably not until this is done. And I'm pretty sure this is far from over.

So Sasuke's jealous and in complete denial. Lovely isn't it? I think so. Makes it that much more fun to convince him he actually likes our little Naru-chan as a girl, and even more a challenge to convince him when he goes back to being a boy. I'm excited. (grins) I don't know when that's all gonna come to light, but I'm thinking soon-ish…maybe? So get ready. I hope Sai will provide us with problems and comic relief galore. I love him, I really do.

And thank you so much everyone for your lovely reviews! You're all amazing and it makes me so happy whenever I read them. They are so very much appreciated, and I would give you all cookies if I could whether you've reviewed or just read. So here are some cyber-cookies for you all! Thanks again, and I'll try to make the next update sooner or about the same time as this one.

I also realized that I used Naruto's phrase, 'believe it' in this, but I had the urge and couldn't stop it. I hate when it's over used cause it gets really annoying after a while, but I felt the need to use it at least once in this story. And sorry my author's notes are so long…

**Disclaimer:** don't own Naruto, never will.


	12. Chapter 12

The ground was wet from the rain of the other day. The overcast sky hadn't allowed the sun to dry it, and the temperature kept dropping until it felt well below freezing to the unfortunate people walking around in the windy weather. Then, at last, the first flakes of white and fluffy, snowy goodness fell from the sky, much later than usual, but completely welcome to the students emerging from the school as they were freed from the educational prison. A few had stopped, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues with little success, while others rushed to their modes of transportation to watch the first snow from someplace warm. But the wonderful scene was wasted on two people as they came running out of the building.

"Sai get back here! I'm gonna kick you in the balls, beat your face in, feed you to rabid monkeys, and after you're dead, I'll resurrect you and do it again!"

Sai merely laughed as he ran through crowds and around obstacles with a certain blonde chasing after him. The blonde let out an enraged noise as he pressed himself to be faster as he dodged things left and right pursuing the cross dressing boy.

And why was Naruto chasing Sai like a madman while spouting off death threats? Well, despite the fact that the two now had a silent understanding and had become friendly with one another over the week, Naruto felt very violated at the moment. The two had last period together, and just as they were leaving the class, Sai had decided to cop a feel. Naturally Naruto had wanted to punch him right then and there, but when he had turned to do so, Sai had already disappeared into the crowd of people. He had looked for him for a moment before deciding to let it go until later. He'd tried to keep his guard up ever since the almost kiss on Sai's first day. The boy seemed to see nothing wrong about flirting openly or trying to molest him in public despite the fact that he was a flaming gay and, to everyone else's knowledge, Naruto was a girl. And a flaming gay flirting with a girl just doesn't happen.

Naruto had gone to his locker to collect the books he needed for homework that night after realizing he wouldn't find Sai in the crowded hallway. Then, just as he closed his locker, a hand groped him once again. Turning with a glare, there stood Sai with his innocent smile plastered on his face though it didn't fool Naruto for a second. Sensing the murderous intent flowing from the blonde, Sai had taken off at once with the other not far behind. They had passed by Sakura, Hinata, and Sasuke, whom they were supposed to meet with after school had let out, and tossed their bags at them. The trio had followed both outside and watched with some amusement.

Sai pushed threw a couple, breaking their hand holding while yelling, "Red rover, red rover!"

Naruto just followed through without a word except a curse at Sai, ignoring the confused looks of the couple Sai had broken apart. Noticing a way to cut the black haired male off, he took the chance. It worked and he tackled the unsuspecting Sai. They tumbled in the snow-covered ground until one sat on top of the other. Sai was on top. Naruto flushed in embarrassment and anger as they boy in a skirt smirked down at him. He was about to say something (probably something perverted), when a snowball nailed him in the face.

Naruto looked in the direction it came from and saw Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata coming toward them. He had a feeling it was Sasuke who had thrown it. Sai wiped the snow from his face. Some of it had dropped onto Naruto's stomach, making him shiver as it touched his bare skin where his shirt had ridden up.

"That wasn't very nice, Sasu-chan," Sai said matter-of-factly.

"You did something stupid, so why do I have to be nice?" Sasuke replied.

"Because if you were nicer, no one would think you're such a teme," Naruto told him. Sai shifted on top of him, reminding the blonde of the cross dressing boy sitting atop him. Sasuke scowled at Naruto who smiled childishly, ignoring the fact that Sai was on his hips wearing only a skirt.

"Fine. I'll go away if you don't want my help," Sasuke said, turning to walk away.

"What? No! Get him off me!" Naruto cried. Sasuke just kept walking away. "Teme!"

"Alright then. Since there's no one to stop me, I'll just proceed to molest Naruko-chan here," Sai said with an innocent smile. A horrified expression came over Naruto's features. He certainly never wanted to be molested by the cross dresser, but now Sai was admitting to wanting to do it!

Before Sai could do anything, another snowball had found his face once again. He was shoved away, and Naruto found himself being helped up by Sasuke. Sai was laughing from his place on the ground.

"Um, thanks," Naruto said with a slight blush. He didn't understand why there was heat in his face, but he wished it would go away.

"Hn," was Sasuke's response.

Sakura and Hinata approached finally. Sakura stopped in front of the blonde with her hands on her hips and asked, "Hey, what was that all about?"

"Sai-"

"It was nothing, my dear Sakura-san," Sai said, cutting Naruto off as he stood up, wiping off the snow that clung to his clothes. Naruto glared at him.

"Nothing? I don't think grabbing my ass is nothing," he grumbled. Sai shrugged in indifference, causing the blonde to sigh.

"Hey guys," Ino called as she jogged toward them. "What are we all waiting for?"

"You, obviously, Ino-pig," Sakura said.

"Billboard brow," the blonde retorted. Although the two were getting along better, they weren't above calling each other names.

"Okay, okay. Stop it guys," Naruto said, walking between the girls. They shrugged and looked off in opposite directions. He knew how stubborn they were and just rolled his eyes.

"Hello Naruko-chan," Gaara said, appearing from thin air beside the blonde cross dressing boy. Naruto yelped in surprise. He never knew how the red head did that, but even after knowing him for years, he never got used to it. He just hated it in general when people snuck up on him.

"Jeez, Gaara, you trying to kill me?" Naruto exaggerated, clutching his hand to his chest.

"It would probably be a lot less loud around here if it worked," Sasuke said, taunting the boy. The blonde glared at him, though unsuccessfully since he was pouting as well.

"You know you'd miss it if I weren't here to make noise," he said.

"Hn. Whatever dobe," Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.

"Teme! You know it's true; you're just in denial!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Think what you want, dobe," Sasuke replied in an uncaring voice. He really was in denial; he just refused to admit it.

"Gah! Damn it Sai! Stop grabbing my ass!" Naruto yelled suddenly. Sai had managed to slide close enough to the blonde once again with out his notice and repeat the action that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. Gaara swiftly hit the brunette over the head and glared at him. Sai was unaffected by it after having suffered under Sasuke's glare long before he had met the red head.

"What was that for Gaa-chan?" Sai pouted while holding his head. Gaara blanched. No one had given him a nickname before, and certainly not one so…cute. He decided to ignore it for now, knowing that Sai seemed to have a fetish for nicknames. He just glared in response to the brunette's question in a you-know-what-you-did way. Sai stuck his tongue out and continued to pout.

"Are we ready to go yet, or not? It's freezing out here, and I'd like to get inside some time soon," Sakura said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, just as soon as Neji gets his butt over here," Naruto told her as he put as much distance between himself and Sai as possible. The brunette just kept following him.

"Ah, N-Neji-san said that he couldn't come today, Naruko-chan. H-he said f-father asked him for his help with something," Hinata said, remembering just then that he had told her that.

"Oh. Okay. Well then, we can go I guess," Naruto said.

"Yes! Who wants to come with me?" Sai exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air, forgetting about following the blonde for the moment.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh…the movies right?" Sai replied with a thoughtful look.

"Do you know how to get there?" Sasuke asked again.

"…no…but I'll get there eventually. Don't worry so much about me Sasu-chan, I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself just fine," Sai said, patting the Uchiha on the head. Sasuke glared at the cross dresser. Sai only smiled innocently. He then walked over to Naruto, who had started a conversation with Ino in the meantime, and wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders. "Besides, I'll just take little Naruko-chan here with me. I'm sure she knows how to get there!"

"What are you going to do to me now?" Naruto whined, poking the brunette's side. Sai jumped, being ticklish in the sides as he was. Naruto grinned and started poking him continuously.

"She's already going Subaku," Sasuke said.

"Huh?" Naruto said, stopping her attack on the brunette. He inched away from her while she was distracted, taking note that she had no qualms about poking him to death.

"You're riding with me apparently," Gaara said. He could see something was going on between the two brunette males that had something to do with his blonde friend, but he certainly didn't want the blonde to be in the crossfire.

"Oh. Ok," Naruto said happily. He started to advance on Sai again to renew his attack, but his victim began to speak.

"But Naruko-chan, I wanted you to ride with me!" he said, using puppy dog eyes. "I'm new so I still don't know where everything is, so I was thinking you could come with me and tell me how to get there!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, not believing the innocence of the man. "Why don't you take Sasuke, or Sakura, or someone else? Why me?"

"Please Naruko-chan?" Sai asked, turning up the intensity of the look. "Pleeeeeeeeeease?"

Naruto bit his lip. Nothing good could come from it. Nothing good at all. Sai would probably be a pervert the whole way, or just be a plain jerk. But that look…

"Ugh, fine. Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. He looked back over at Gaara with an apologetic look. The red head just shrugged, telling the blonde it was all right. He turned back to Sai, ignoring Sasuke who was frowning at this new development. "But someone else has to come too! I'm not being left alone with a pervert."

"Fine, fine," Sai said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and then turned to pick whom he wanted to use as a human shield against the brunette.

* * *

"Damn it Sai, keep your eyes on the road!" Naruko yelled at the brunette who was currently flipping through the stack of CDs he had in his car and ignoring the road. Eventually he found what he was looking for and after popping it in, he turned back to the road in time to swerve away from a car they were about to hit. Ino and Sakura were about to have heart attacks in the back seat.

"Why'd you have to pick us to go with the crazy driver?" Sakura demanded.

"I didn't know!" Naruko shouted.

"Nobody knows!" Sai cried with a grin on his face. He weaved in between cars breaking the speed limit easily in the process.

"Slow down!" Naruko cried, noticing the speedometer.

"You're gonna kill us!" Ino said

"I promise I won't if Naruko-chan will let me go out with her later," Sai said quickly.

"Sure, whatever. Just don't crash!" Naruko shouted, only hearing her name.

"Ok!" Sai said happily, slowing down immediately causing the person behind him to beep loudly. "So I'll come over tomorrow then."

"Wait, what?"

"You said you'd let me go out with you later, so I'm telling you when I'm picking you up, which would be tomorrow. Roughly around one or two, if you want to be picky," Sai replied. All three passengers gave him a strange look.

"I didn't agree to that," Naruko denied.

"Oh, but you did, my blonde friend!"

"Well—now I'm telling you I don't want to go out with you later."

"Naruko-chan, you hurt my feelings." The smug look was still on his face.

"…You're still gonna come anyway, aren't you?" Naruko asked. Sai only grinned in response, and the blonde sighed heavily. Naruko looked back at Sakura and Ino for help, but they only gave him shrugs and apologetic looks.

"I promised Hinata I would take her shopping tomorrow. Sorry…" Sakura trailed off.

"My family has me working all day at the flower shop tomorrow. Sorry Naruko-chan," Ino said.

Naruko turned forward again and sank into her seat with a groan. She gave the driver a sideways glare. "No funny business then, okay?"

"Alright," Sai promised. The blonde didn't quite trust his word, but knew it was the best she would get from the other.

Finally they arrived at the theater, and none but Sai were surprised that they were the first to arrive. They bought their tickets as they waited for the others and eventually stuck up a small conversation. Gaara's group arrived not long after, and soon they were all finding seats in front of the big screen. They had picked a foreign movie about ninjas that had subtitles the whole way through. The girls, with the exception of Naruko, had complained at first, but had no problem when they were assured that the film had an intense love story in it as well.

Naruko had taken a seat by Hinata and was annoyed when the seat on her other side had been occupied by Sai. Gaara had taken the seat beside him, and she was grateful, knowing the redhead would stop the pervert from doing anything. Or he'd at least help her beat him up if he did. Sasuke had been trapped between Sakura and Ino on Hinata's other side.

By the end, they were swooning at the couple's tragic secret love and crying over the main male character's death. Afterwards Naruko said it reminded her of _Romeo and Juliet_. The girls and Sai had agreed. When everyone was ready to go home, Sakura and Ino refused to be driven by the maniac.

"B-but…but you can't just leave me alone with him!" Naruko cried.

"Sorry Naruko-chan. I don't want to be killed off just yet," Sakura told her.

"I agree. I think a three-year-old could drive better than him," Ino said.

"So harsh!" Sai cried, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic gesture. Naruko rolled her eyes.

"Still! I'd rather not die alone with him," she pleaded.

"Oh, Naruko-chan. Don't you trust me?" Sai said suddenly, clasping his hands together in front of him. He poked his lip out in a pout, causing Naruko to groan and roll her eyes again. He persisted and she gave him a halfhearted glare.

"Despite how much of a pervert and hassle you are, I trust you. But I don't trust your driving skills and I doubt I ever will," she said. He continued until it was clear she wouldn't say any more and then gave up with a shrug.

"I'll go with you. Sai's going my way anyway," Sasuke said, interrupting the moment. The blonde looked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Really?"

"That doesn't mean I'm being a human shield dobe," Sasuke replied. She deflated. Sai smirked.

"That's right, you'd probably be more like a force field or full body armor wouldn't you?" he said. Sasuke glared, silently denying the statement as Naruko looked between the two with a raised eyebrow and wondering if she was missing something.

* * *

Gaara watched as the two brunettes and blonde piled into the car, hoping the Uchiha really would prevent Sai from doing anything inappropriate to the oblivious blonde. He sighed, knowing it was out of his hands now. He'd been a bit surprised about Naruko's statement of trusting Sai. The blonde normally didn't trust many people after such a short amount of time no matter how friendly she was with them. It took either years to develop or a common understanding that only they shared for it to happen. He was thinking it was the latter, but wasn't sure _what_ the common understanding was about. He found it rather humorous that the Uchiha's friend nearly had Naruko's full trust before the Uchiha himself. But he also knew Sasuke was well on his way to earning it. The redhead started the engine of his car and glided out of the movie's parking lot in silence.

"I can't believe Naruko-chan actually trusts that guy with how much he bothers her," Sakura stated once they were on the move. Ino nodded in agreement.

"N-Naruko-chan had told me that Sai-san isn't that bad, as l-long as he keeps his h-hands to himself. She said he's s-surprisingly i-insightful," Hinata said quietly. The pinkette and blonde raised their eyebrows.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Ino said skeptically.

"Uzumaki can trust whomever she wants. She's a good judge of character so there should be no reason for your doubt in her decision," Gaara said in a serious, monotone voice. The girls stared at him, but he kept his eyes on the road as though he hadn't said a thing.

Sakura sighed heavily. "Whatever. But that doesn't mean I trust that pervert yet," she said.

"Me too," Ino agreed. Hinata opted to stay silent and Gaara simply shrugged. If they didn't understand the connection that was there, that was their problem. Hinata seemed to realize it, but Gaara had always known the Hyuuga girl was perceptive like that.

He dropped off Sakura first and then Ino soon after. Hinata's house was further out of the way. When they arrived, he parked the car and got out as well. She sent him a questioning look.

"Your cousin has something to give me and I thought I could pick it up now, if that's all right?" he explained.

"O-of course," she replied with a shy smile. She led the way up the path to the front door and into the house. It was quiet, almost as though no one was there. Hinata slipped off her shoes before continuing on with Gaara behind her, following suit. As they were walking down a hall, a man suddenly walked out of a room just before them. Gaara assumed the stern looking man to be Hinata's father. He had long brown hair and the same pale eyes as Hinata and Neji only slightly colder and wearier from past experiences. He looked learned and strict, like someone who had little tolerance for things out of order. He only looked at Hinata for a second before appraising the red head.

Gaara spoke when the man's eyes finally met his, "I'm here to see Neji."

The man's eyes flickered to Hinata, who offered him a tentative smile, before returning to Gaara with a small frown. "He's in his room," he said finally.

"Arigatou, Hyuuga-san," Gaara said politely. The man didn't respond, and only walked on around the pair. Hinata motioned for Gaara to follow her. It was honestly his first time in the Hyuuga's household. He'd driven Hinata home a couple times that year as a favor to Neji when he hadn't be able to himself, but he'd never been invited inside. He'd never had a reason to either. He could have waited for the next day, but for some reason he didn't want to wait.

"T-this is his room," Hinata told him quietly when they stopped.

"Thank you," Gaara replied. She smiled at him and continued down the hall to where he guessed her room was. Taking a slight breath, he knocked on the door. He heard some rustling and waited for Neji to answer.

"Was there anything else, uncle?" Neji asked as he opened the door. Surprise flitted over his face as his eyes met cold teal instead of his uncle's pale ones, but he quickly composed himself once again. "Is there any reason you're here, Subaku?"

"I'm here for my book," Gaara replied simply. Confusion entered Neji's eyes before recognition took its place.

"It's over here," he said, retreating into his room. Gaara followed after him, looking around the Hyuuga's room as Neji searched for said book. The brown haired boy pulled it triumphantly from under a stack of other books and took the bookmark he'd been using from it. He returned to the red head's side. Gaara was currently looking over the other books Neji kept in his bookcase. His finger traced one book's pale green spine in particular as he read the title.

"Interested in borrowing it?" Neji asked, hoping to surprise the stoic boy. Gaara shook his head and turned to the other, undisturbed.

"I've already read it. Temari let me read it last year," he told the other. "It was interesting."

"I only finished it last month. Hinata had recommended it," Neji replied, handing Gaara his book.

"What did you think of it?" Gaara asked, curiosity seeping into his expression. He took his book. Neji smiled just a bit, seeing the other's expression, and decided to see what would come of such a simple question. Perhaps this was one person he could have an intelligent discussion with aside from is stuttering cousin.

* * *

Naruto waited. His foot was tapping already to his imaginary beat once again as his eyes glanced at the clock. It had been…one minute since the last time he looked. He was sure five minutes had passed, _at least, _but that obviously wasn't the case. It was nearing two o'clock. Hadn't Sai said noon? Naruto let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned back on the couch, letting himself deflate. He wasn't anxious for the cross dresser to get there. No. He was anxious for the time when Sai would leave, which, Naruto hoped, would be as soon as he got there. He was supposed to pick up his mom later on with Tsunade. He didn't want to be late for that.

Yumi was finally going to be coming home. Well, not to their exact home. They would all be living in Tsunade's house, but anywhere he could be living with his mother would be home to Naruto. She had been living at a center relearning things and seeing what she already knew. She was finally done with that and would be able to return home. Tsunade still had custody over Naruto ever since Yumi had been taken to the hospital in the first place, but she was willing to give it back to Yumi if she proved to be stable enough. Until then, she had agreed to have Yumi live with them since she was still worried about her old friend and wanted to keep an eye on her as well.

Finally the doorbell rang and Naruto sprinted to answer it. He paused to take a breath before opening the door as though he hadn't just run to it. Sai was standing there, as he expected, with that same smile of his plastered on his face. He raised a hand in greeting.

"Hello Naru-chan!" he said happily.

"Yeah, yeah. Come in," the blonde responded, holding the door open and stepping aside for his friend to enter.

"That's not a very enthusiastic greeting," Sai pouted as he walked in.

"Well you _are_ the one who invited yourself over here. Sorry if I'm not exactly _enthused_ by your presence," Naruto replied sarcastically. He stepped back to let the Sai in for a moment while he grabbed his coat. He checked to make sure he had his wallet and wrote a note for Tsunade who had gone out with Shizune earlier that morning. Done with that, he returned to Sai who was waiting patiently by the door. "Ok, I'm ready."

"Shall we?" Sai said, his arm making a sweeping gesture toward the open door to allow his companion to exit first. Naruto walked out, locked the door once Sai was out as well, and they were off.

A few minutes later, due to Sai's reckless driving, they were sitting in a nice café, right in front of the window. Sai had told him the day before when he'd been dropped off, not to eat lunch. Naruto hadn't and was quite glad that Sai hadn't asked him not to eat, only to have them do something else entirely. He wasn't quite sure why he had thought Sai would do something like that, but then decided he'd been thinking of Kakashi for some reason since that seemed like something he would do. Naruto looked at the menu again before placing it on the table and meeting Sai's stare which hadn't left him since they'd sat down.

"So, is there some purpose to taking me out to lunch?" Naruto asked. Sai shrugged.

"Not really. I know I've been bugging you lately, and I just wanted us to get to know each other better," he replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Right," he said. He was about to say more when a waitress approached them. They gave her their drink and food orders at the same time and she told them it would be out in a short while. They lapsed into silence while they waited for their drinks. Sai flipped through the small dessert menu for something he would like while Naruto just drifted off into his own thought. The waitress returned soon enough with their drinks; water for Sai and a hot chocolate for Naruto. Naruto blew on his beverage, not noticing Sai's smirk over his water until he was taking his first sip.

"So…which side of the fence are you on?" he asked in a curious voice. Naruto choked in surprise as Sai grinned. Naruto could just tell he'd been waiting for the perfect time to spring that question.

Finally able to breathe, Naruto retorted, "Why are you asking?"

"Well," Sai began, "normally cross dressers are gay, or at least bisexual. But mind you these are people who cross dress willingly. You, my friend, are an exception to this. I just want to quench my own curiosity." He smiled that innocent smile Naruto was really beginning to distrust. The blonde blushed despite himself and frowned.

"I mean if you're into girls still, that's great. You'd be able to understand them much better than any other guy could, anyway," Sai told him with an air on nonchalance. Naruto looked down at his drink.

"I don't know, I've never really been in a relationship before. With the whole keeping my gender a secret thing, I didn't really think about it, you know?" he said quietly so no eavesdroppers could hear accidentally. Sai stared at him and then shrugged.

"So then you're bi-curious," he said.

"What?" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow again.

"Bi-curious. You don't know, so just leave it open to interpretation. Go experimenting with both and see what you're more comfortable with. You could be attracted to both. Who knows? You certainly won't unless you try it both ways," Sai replied.

The waitress returned with their food once again and asked if they needed anything else before leaving once again. Naruto mulled over Sai's words as they ate, seeing as Sai was too busy eating to initiate conversation for the time being. The cross dresser was finished quickly though, and started on a new train of thought before Naruto could finish his food. They talked about random things and whatever came to mind. As the waitress brought their check, Naruto realized he was actually having a good time with his usual harasser. Instead of heading back to Sai's car, they decided to take a bit of a walk since the wind wasn't blowing so hard and the sun was out, making for a beautiful day with the snow still on the ground from the day before.

Finding a small kiddie park nearby, they stopped there. They played around on the monkey bars and jungle gym for a little before settling on the swings. No one else was around since it was still rather chilly out, but neither minded the cold. They were warmed up from playing around and welcomed the cold air that surrounded them. Naruto moved back and forth slightly, twisting a little from side to side as he did, while Sai had begun to swing higher. He didn't let himself get too high before he jumped off and landed on his feet, stumbling a little bit. Naruto laughed and Sai grinned. He skipped back to his swing and jumped onto it facing the opposite direction that Naruto was. He looked bursting to ask something. Naruto decided to humor him.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you think of Sasuke?" Sai asked. He looked as if he were waiting to hear a juicy tidbit of gossip, which it was, in a way. Everything about the Sasuke was gossip, to the girls at least. Naruto rolled his eyes at the mention of the Uchiha.

"He can be a jerk, but he's starting to grow on me," he replied honestly. Sai giggled.

"Yeah, he can be like that," he said. He looked out, watching the few people outside as they walked by. "He's starting to act like he used to, though."

Naruto looked at him questioningly. Sure Sasuke was starting to act a little differently than he had been when they first met, but she had chalked it up to his becoming more comfortable around his new friends. Then again his family had been killed and that could have changed him.

"What was he like? I mean, before…" he trailed off, feeling as though he shouldn't say it aloud.

"He was sarcastic and didn't really like large groups even though he had so many people trailing after him. But I guess that's how he is here too, so that's not much of a difference," Sai told the blonde, not looking at him. "He liked to go out a lot. We used to just walk around the city and play around… You know, once you see past his jerk act, he's actually a really good friend."

Naruto noticed the far away look that came over Sai's face as he talked and smiled slightly.

"He does it because he doesn't really want to bother with others. But if you manage to get past it, he'll be there for you if you need it. I didn't really have any friends before I met Sasuke because of, you know, how I dress and then always getting tossed around and moving to different places. I ended up sitting next to him and started annoying him one day, just to see if I could get a reaction from him. He didn't really do much, so I got bored and just started talking to him instead. He didn't say much to that either, but eventually we had a couple good conversations. I didn't really think he was my friend since I didn't know if he wanted friendship from me in the first place. But I got cornered one day by a couple of guys, you know the kind. The stereotypical bullies who gang up on others. I could have handled it and I was about to, but Sasuke was there before I could do anything. He chased them away while I just stood there. I didn't really know what to do, but he just turned around and asked if I wanted to go do something after school with him. I said yes and I knew he was a really good guy despite the vibes he had been putting out."

"He gives me that feeling too," Naruto said, a thoughtful look coming over him. "I think he just got a little lost after what happened. It's a hard thing for anyone to go through."

Sai nodded in agreement. They lapsed into silence for a moment before a devious grin came over Sai's face once again.

"So. What do you _think_ of Sasuke?" he asked in a suggestive tone. Naruto gave him a confused look.

"What? You just asked...oh! What? No way. I wouldn't think of him like that." A blush was starting to creep across his face, betraying his denial. Sai saw it and grasped it happily. He jumped up from his seat on the swing.

"Don't denyyyy how you feel insiiiiide!" he sang in no particular tune.

"Sai! Come on. I don't even know if I like guys anyway, so what makes you think I would like Sasuke?" Naruto exclaimed with a frown.

"Hmm, true. If only there were a way to see if you did…" Sai said, ignoring the groan coming from his blonde companion. He walked around to stand in front of Naruto, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. An idea struck him and he snapped his fingers as a smirk came on his face. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, making Naruto gulp in fear of what Sai's triumphant expression may mean.

"Kiss me."

Naruto's eyes widened and he nearly fell off the swing in surprise.

"What? Why?!" he shouted when he regaining his balance. Sai stood back up, hands still resting daintily on his hips.

"Why not? It's just a kiss, and it's not like we're with anyone. Besides, I don't mind kissing others, especially if they're a cutie like you," he said with a wink and a smile.

Naruto glared a little at the other, though it was obscured a little by the pout that had appeared as he replied, "I didn't ask why you would. I just mean…why? How would kissing you solve anything?"

"It solves everything!" Sai exclaimed, striking a heroic pose. When no response but the wind blowing was awarded him, he pouted and replied more seriously, "Because I'm a guy and if you kiss me and it feels right, you'll know if you like guys or not."

"Um, I'm not sure it works that way," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow at the other's explanation. Sai stuck his tongue out at the other.

"So what? Just try it. It won't hurt anything if you do," he said. Naruto paused to think about it. He knew he probably shouldn't since it would allow the pervert a new way to harass him, but still…he was curious. He hadn't thought about it until Sai had brought up the topic, but it vaguely disturbed him that he didn't know. So maybe if he did this…

"You know you waaant toooo," Sai said in a sing-song voice, egging him on. "Just one little kiss. That's it."

Naruto frowned as he looked into Sai's eyes that sparkled with amusement at the situation.

"…Fine. But only because I want to see if it will help me figure this out. If you come within a ten mile radius of me with the intent to do what we are about to do or even think of mentioning that we have kissed to another person, I will personally castrate you and then have rabid dogs maul you," Naruto relented. Sai grinned, unaffected by the threat, and walked closer to the blonde who was still seated on the swing.

Naruto fidgeted, wondering if he should stand or not, but Sai simply leaned down, grasping the swing's chain with one hand and cupping Naruto's face with the other. He smirked at the uncomfortable look on the blonde's face and leaned ever closer.

"As you wish," Sai breathed when they were barely centimeters apart. And then their lips connected.

The kiss was something completely unexpected to Naruto. He wasn't even sure what he was expecting, but he was quite sure it wasn't what he got. It was soft and new and altogether amazing for a first kiss. In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered Sai almost stealing his first kiss, and guessed it was better that it was consensual for Sai to be his first kiss than for the cross dresser to just take it of his own accord. When it was over, his eyes fluttered open as he caught his breath, unaware of when his eyes had closed in the first place. He stared into coal black eyes and was somehow reminded of someone else who had them. He found himself wishing it had been that other person he'd shared that first, amazing kiss with, but he couldn't quite recall who it was he was thinking of in the leftover hazy that clouded his mind. Words pierced it as Sai spoke, his face still close to Naruto's and his hand still on the other's cheek.

"So?"

Naruto took another breath before answering, his mouth moving into a bit of a playful frown.

"You're too girly for me to judge with," he said finally.

Sai grinned as he pulled back and then laughed, thanking the blonde for the compliment. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the other, but laughed along with him anyway.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey…(dodges sharp object being thrown) I know, I know. I'm sorry! I've been keeping you waiting for forever, but it's finally here! Unfortunately, it's basically just another filler chapterrr…. (eh heh, don't kill me please!) I wanted some relationship development between Naruto and Sai, and I know a lot of you are going to be like, what? Naru and Sai kissed! What happened to Sasuke! But you have to understand that they are both in denial. They don't actually have a relationship until the end… (eh heh, don't kill me again…) Thankfully we will soon be getting to the exciting parts soon such as Naruto's (gasp!) return to being a boy, and something terrible which will bring this whole shebang to a close! You can probably guess what that is, but I can hope you won't know. I'd love for it all to be a surprise, and I've got an idea that won't stop poking my brain for it. But alas, it will have to wait a while longer to come out.

What has kept me from updating was finals for school, school in general, my family coming up for my sister's graduation, and then having to entertain my cousin who normally stays with us for the summer while said sister goes off to Spain (Normally my cousin's off with my sister, but she wasn't allowed to go off to Spain so we got to spend some quality time together)! Add some major writer's block and that's it in a nutshell. But my sister is back so I got some good time in with my computer to provide you with this. I hope you are all satisfied with it for the moment until I am done with the next one. I tried to make it longer to make up for my absence, but I probably just drew it out more than I needed to. And about the scene with Gaara and Neji, I just couldn't resist. I seem to have developed a liking for NejiGaa. There may or may not be more development between them, but in any case it's just an extra thing I decided to add when I forgot to look at the outline I made for this thing.

So, I'll leave now. Thank you so much for reading this far, and to all of you who review, I love you very much. It really brightens my day to read them. We're almost at 100 people, so I'll be happy even if only one or two people review this chapter. Reviews are appreciated as always and flames will be used to burn random things I may find.

**Disclaimer: **don't own Naruto or any characters associated with it (with the exception of Yumi, I do own the crazy woman...)


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto walked in Monday with even more of a spring in his step than usual. He greeted Iruka enthusiastically as he made his way to his seat by Hinata and Sasuke, both of whom were watching him curiously. He stopped in front of the desk and put his stuff down.

"You seem h-happier than usual today Naruko-chan," the shorthaired girl stated with her usual shy smile.

"What happened? You get a life time supply of ramen?" Sasuke asked. The blonde stuck his tongue out at the Uchiha.

"No. And if that ever did happen, I would probably be at home enjoying it right now," he replied in a matter-of-factly voice.

"T-then what is it?" Hinata asked.

"My mom's finally out of the hospital," Naruto said with a grin. Tsunade had gone to the center without him while he was with Sai, but he didn't care anymore. His mom was home with him and that was all that mattered.

"T-that's wonderful Naruko-chan!" Hinata exclaimed quietly. "How is she doing?"

"She's just fine. I'm really relieved she's back now, but she's still recovering a little."

"That's so great," Hinata exclaimed again.

"Congratulations dobe," Sasuke said simply.

"Teme," Naruto replied, but continued to smile knowing the Uchiha wasn't insulting him.

"So how was your weekend?" the blonde asked just as Sasuke stood from his seat.

"Uneventful," he replied as he moved to walk around the desk. Then the impossible happened.

By some unknown force of nature, or maybe the desk had just suddenly become animated and moved the slightest bit toward him (Sasuke didn't know but he was voting for anything but the truth), the normally graceful Uchiha ungracefully caught his foot on the leg of the desk and tumbled, straight down, onto the blonde who had been standing innocently in front of the desk until then. Both were now lying on the ground of the classroom, with all of their fellow classmates who had already arrived and a few who were just entering staring at them. And their lips were locked. Both stared at each other in shock. Sasuke shot up, fighting off the blush that was trying with all its might to show up on his cheeks. He mumbled something about going to that bathroom and being sorry before he left as quickly as he could without it looking like he was running away.

Naruto, meanwhile, was still staring up at the ceiling, shock still running in his system. There was something else there as well, although he wasn't quite sure what. It was pleasant enough, but why it was there when he'd just had an accidental kiss with Sasuke, he had no idea, nor did he want to know. Iruka rushed over to help his student up, and Naruto accepted without a word.

"Are you okay?" Iruka asked, worry spilled across his features. Naruto shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the shock and the slightly pleasant feeling that seemed to have settled nicely in the pit of his stomach. It kept fluttering around, and he decided he should ask Tsunade about it later if it didn't go away.

"Yeah. I'm good," he told the teacher. Iruka nodded warily and went back to his desk.

Naruto looked around and saw that everyone was still staring at him. Heat rose up in his face as he realized that they had all just seen him kiss Sasuke. He walked stiffly to his seat by Hinata and buried his head in his arms to cover his embarrassment. No wonder the Uchiha had taken off so quickly. His mind flashed the image of Sasuke on top of him, his lips covering his own as he stared up into coal black eyes and he was suddenly reminded of something else. Sai's kiss. His blush grew even more. He remembered his discussion with the boy and his reasons for the kiss. His stomach fluttered again as that unknown pleasant feeling presented itself. What did it mean? Did that mean that he liked kissing boys? It had to be. Even though it hadn't happened with Sai, Sasuke _was_ a boy. Sai really did have to be too girly for him to judge on. Besides, it wouldn't be a pleasant feeling if he didn't like, right?

But what if it was just his body's reaction to something like that? Again, it hadn't happened when he'd kissed Sai, but…

Naruto groaned as his head began to pound from thinking too much and confusing himself.

"Are you a-alright N-Naruko-chan?" Hinata asked from beside him.

The blonde sighed and sat up again, slouching in his seat. He turned his head to look at his friend with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't you worry Hinata-chan. I'll give Sasuke a beating later for doing that, so everything's all fine and dandy," he replied.

"Who said you'd be able to give me a beating dobe?" Sasuke said casually as he sat down. He looked so calm it made Hinata wonder if she'd really seen him all that flustered when he'd left.

"I could beat you any day teme," Naruto retorted, glaring at the Uchiha.

"Right. Of course you could," Sasuke replied in a dismissive voice. Just as Naruto was about to make another retort, Iruka stood up and decided to begin class before a fight began. Despite Sasuke's calm façade and Naruto's normal attitude to rise to a challenge, there was a strange sort of tension between them. Iruka wished he could help, especially since Naruko was involved, but he knew it was better for his students if he didn't interfere. So he merely settled for breaking up the potential fight and giving them something else to focus on.

* * *

_"The killing rate has risen as of late as police continue in their search for the elusive serial killer named Snake. We have more on the story later on, but first…"_

Tsunade turned away from the television. She didn't want to be reminded that that psycho was still out there. He'd been completely covered in fire and even shot before that, and the bastard was still alive. She didn't understand, but it wasn't likely that it would be explained unless he told her himself. If they had looked harder for a body, if they had made absolutely certain that he was dead then maybe he wouldn't be alive to terrorize people today…

But she didn't want to dwell on the if-then's and the maybe's that seemed to be in an endless supply in her mind. It took away from what she was doing to fix her mistake. She didn't want her brother's death to have been in vain. He'd worked so hard to find Snake and he'd nearly lost his own son before he finally lost his life trying to complete that goal. That was why she was working with Itachi.

She had asked Itachi to give her anything to work on if it meant that she could help with the case. She had past experience in dealing with the sadistic murderer, and she knew she would be a valuable asset to the investigation. Itachi had agreed, having recognized her from the profiles of the police who had worked on the case before as well as from the profile of one of Snake's victims, being a relative to both one who died and one who had survived. He told her that Jiraiya was working on it as well.

Itachi had sent her many things over the months, as well as a few leads to follow, but everything was always a dead end. It was quite frustrating, frankly. It was December already, and they were no closer to finding the madman than when she had begun working with Itachi.

Sighing, she got up and went to her room, carrying the sake she'd picked up with her. The house was quiet now. Yumi had asked to take Naruto out shopping. They'd told Yumi about Naruto possibly being over his cross dressing phase that she thought he was in, and when he'd admitted to not actually having any boy's clothes anymore, she'd insisted on taking him shopping. Tsunade was glad, both for the fact that he was going to get more boyish clothes and that Naruto and Yumi were finally having the relationship a mother and son were supposed to have. A loving, caring, supportive one.

Tsunade sat at her desk before the humming laptop and set her drink beside it. Her finger moved over the mouse pad and opened her inbox. Shizune was supposed to have sent her an e-mail. The brunette woman's mother had gotten sick with pneumonia and had been sent to the hospital recently, and Shizune had decided to take some time off to visit her. She'd promised to tell Tsunade how she was fairing after her visit, and then how long she would be gone.

She scanned the new messages, deleting scam mail and whatever she didn't need as she went, and then found that Shizune hadn't sent her anything yet. She was about to delete yet another e-mail when the address caught her eye. It was Itachi's. She hadn't gotten anything out of what he'd given her before, but she wasn't expecting anything else from him so soon. She rolled the mouse over the link and opened it. She read it over twice. He wanted her to investigate a man and interview him. At first she had wondered why he would ask her to do it when the name hadn't fully registered in her mind. When it did register, she understood, but then wondered why that man would need to be investigated. He'd had nothing to do with anything about Snake, even back then.

He still lived in the same town, but he had moved to a different house, larger than the one he had before, if Itachi he told her correctly. Suspicious yes, but not if he had settled down with someone. She read the information again, then exited from her inbox and turned off her laptop. She leaned back and sipped on her nearly forgotten sake thoughtfully.

If she did this, she would need to leave for a while to investigate and interview him. And she needed to do it soon. Itachi wanted the information as quickly as possible, and the man seemed to be getting ready to move some place soon. The Uchiha didn't tell her anything more than that, and so she assumed he didn't know.

Tsunade wondered if it would safe to leave Yumi and Naruto alone while she was gone. Yumi seemed stable enough in her new personality, and Tsunade knew Naruto wouldn't do anything too rash. He was careful enough.

She sighed. She would have to leave them alone with Shizune gone. If the brunette had been available, she would have asked her to stay with them, but she wasn't. Tsunade thought some more. She could certainly ask Itachi to check on the two, but knew he had too much going on. She didn't want to bother him with it. A face flashed in her mind as she took another sip of sake. A smile grew on her face.

Of course. Iruka! He was very close to Naruto, and she was certain the man wouldn't mind checking in on Naruto and Yumi while she was gone to see if they were okay. She downed the rest of her drink quickly, satisfied with what she'd come up with. It could work. She got up. First she would put her sake away and then call up Iruka.

Now…when would she tell Naruto?

* * *

"I've got a little special something for everyone today!" Kiba said with a grin as he arrived at Naruto's lunch table. He reached into his bag and brought out a stack of bright blue papers. He handed one to each person.

"I'm having a party this weekend. My parents are out at a dog show and my sister is at college, so I've got the house to myself," he told them as they read the flyer. "If you're interested, it doesn't matter if you tell me or not. I'm a little short on food and stuff though, so come find me if you wanna help with that. I need to go give out the rest of these now. Ja ne!"

Excitement over took the faces that normally showed emotion, while mild interest entered the rest.

"It's been a while since Kiba-kun's had a party," Ino said with a grin as she read over the flyer again before putting it away in her bag.

"Does he throw good parties?" Sai asked.

"Are you kidding? They're awesome!" Ino exclaimed.

"And is parents never find out. I don't know how he does it. If I ever had a party while my parents were away, I could never clean up in time," Sakura said.

"That's because you don't actually clean," Ino stated. Sakura glared at the blonde girl. Naruto rolled his eyes at them, and turned to Sai.

"They're really fun. You should come," he said and then looked over at the silent red haired boy. "Gaara you should come too!"

Gaara glared at the blonde who was unaffected. "No."

"Aw, come on Gaara! You didn't go to the last one either!" Naruto pouted.

"Neither did you," the red head pointed out. Naruto ignored the comment and looked at Gaara with wide, puppy-dog eyes.

"Pleeeease? I'm gonna go this time, and if you don't go I won't have any fun because I'll be thinking of you, at your house, all alone, doing nothing except boring homework, and not having any fun at all!" he ranted.

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I won't, but I still think you should come," Naruto admitted. He pouted. "It would make me haaaapyyy."

"…If I agree to go, will you stop pestering me about it?" Gaara asked reluctantly. The blonde nodded his head rapidly with a giant grin plastered on his face. The red head groaned, knowing he would regret his decision. "I'll go."

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, doing a small victory dance in his seat. His hand nearly hit Sasuke in the face, who smacked the appendage away in response.

"Stop being stupid dobe and watch where you're waving those things," Sasuke said with a glare. Naruto stopped and glared right back. The tension between the two had been growing ever since the incident on Monday, which had never been resolved in the following days. Sasuke had gone into even deeper denial as to the strange fluttering feeling that had taken residence in his stomach recently every time the blonde was around. Naruto on the other hand, was nervous and confused about many things, and as a result, defensive in response to Sasuke's distancing attitude. He wished he could just forget everything and for things to be how they were before, but he knew it was a hopeless wish.

Sakura cleared her throat, breaking the tension that had built up due to the impromptu glaring contest. She turned to Hinata as Ino began talking loudly to Shikamaru and Choji, asking if they were going to the party as well.

"Are you going to the party Hinata?" Sakura asked the shy girl. Hinata blushed and pushed her fingers together nervously.

"Ah, um…I-I'd like to, b-but…I'm not sure if father would let me," she admitted quietly. Naruto decided it was probably best to ignore Sasuke and turned to Hinata.

"Would he let you go if Neji went with you?" he asked.

"I-I'm not sure…he might," Hinata said, hope lighting in her eyes. The three looked at Neji who frowned at them.

"No," Neji said. The hope in Hinata's eyes was extinguished as quickly as it came. The male Hyuuga sighed as he saw this. "Hinata…"

"I-it's okay Neji-kun," she said resignedly. Neji stared hard at her before sighing once more, wearily this time.

"No, you should go. I'll see what I can do," he told her. Hinata's eyes lighted up once more and she smiled gratefully at her cousin.

"Th-thank you Neji-kun," she said. Naruto grinned at the longhaired male.

"Neji-kun's going soft!" he said with a smirk. "Now I shall no longer think of you as the cold hearted bastard you used to be."

Neji glared at the blonde, who only stuck out his tongue playfully at the other. The Hyuuga could hear the silent laughter emanating from the red haired boy beside him and scowled. And yet, he couldn't help wondering what it would be like to hear Subaku laugh out loud.

* * *

**A/N:** Um…(dodges sharp objects being thrown)…yes. Gosh it's really short. But it's finally here. Short, but here. Be happy. I've had major writer's blockage on this in what to write next. I may have an outline for what I want to happen, but that doesn't mean I know how I want to write it. So hopefully I will be inspired to write the next chapter and have it up soon. I really do want to finish this, so even if it takes a while, I'll always come back to it. I've been playing around with some other ideas as well, but I want to write more of them and finish this story before I even think of posting them. Unless, of course, I come up with a one-shot I feel like writing. But I don't have one as of right now.

So, thank you everyone so much for reviewing last chapter. I've made it over 100 reviews! It makes my heart happy, and it made me so frustrated that I couldn't get this out sooner as a thanks. I was literally sitting in front of my computer staring at it for hours, and was only able to write about two sentences each time, if anything. But anywhos, I love you all dearly for sticking with this so long, including all those peoples who just like to read without saying anything. You're awesome even though I don't hear from you. Please review and tell me what you think.

**Disclaimer:** if I did own Naruto, I honestly would do a crap job with it, so be glad I don't


	14. Chapter 14

Friday rolled around and Sasuke welcomed being released from school into the cold bitter wind that blew the snow around that had been piling up in the past week. Sai was supposed to drive him home, but ended up needed to stay after school to work on some art project that he was supposed to have finished in class that day. And so Sasuke walked home, not wanting to be on the overcrowded bus teeming with the screaming banshees that were his fangirls. It wasn't far, and it didn't take long to get there. When he arrived, he set his things down by the door and took off his shoes. He moved into the kitchen to make some tea.

Itachi's car wasn't in the driveway, so Sasuke assumed he either went to the office for some more fillies and to do a check up, or he was out visiting Deidara. The blonde man came to the Uchiha household sometimes, but more often than not, he ended up spending more time with Sasuke than Itachi, since the older Uchiha was working on his cases at home more than at his office. Not that Sasuke minded spending time with the blonde man since Deidara was practically family, but Sasuke could tell that the other really wanted to be with Itachi. He would catch the blonde staring off with a blank expression or even a smile and a blush, or sometimes Deidara would drift off in the middle of a sentence to lose himself in his thoughts. Sasuke knew he was thinking of Itachi.

Bright blue caught his eye suddenly from the counter top. Finishing his tea, Sasuke went to put his cup away, ignoring the bright object that was begging for his attention. It was the flyer to Kiba's party, which happened to be tomorrow. He wasn't going. He wasn't exactly the social type, no matter how popular he was, and going to a party required one to be sociable. No, he wasn't going.

As he entered his room, boredom settled over him. It was the weekend. He had homework, but it would only take him an hour at most to finish it. Deciding it was better than doing nothing, he pulled out his schoolbooks. He was halfway done by the time he heard the door open. The door had been locked, so it was either Itachi or—

"Sasu-chan! Oh Sasu-chan!!"

—Sai.

Sasuke sighed. He could hear the cross-dressing boy make his way through the kitchen, and then coming up to his room. Sai opened the door, and Sasuke didn't even look up from what he was doing.

"Homework? Sasu-chan, you're so boring!" Sai exclaimed as he flounced over to the young Uchiha.

"Hn. At least I get it done," Sasuke replied. He could hear his friend pout and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"I get my homework done!" Sai said indignantly. Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Okay, sometimes I get it done. But I still pass, don't I?" Sai muttered.

"And every time I wonder how," Sasuke replied.

"Oh, you know, just a little…private persuasion…" Sai told him. Sasuke finally turned to the other boy, his eyebrow raised in skepticism. Sai only smiled innocently and held up his hand.

"Cookie?" he asked, waving the confection in front of the Uchiha. Sasuke swiped the cookie from his friend's hand and bit into it, letting it hang from his mouth as he went back to his homework. Sasuke wasn't the kind of person who liked sweets and cookies and other things like that, and neither was his brother. But Deidara, as girly as he was, liked to cook and bake things for them. And so they had cookies made especially by the blonde that weren't too sweet or too bland. And they were spectacular.

"Maa, Sasuke, you're boring. Let's do something," Sai whined. He poked Sasuke in the side, making the boy twitch. He poked Sasuke a few more times until the Uchiha turned to glare at him, asking a silent 'What?'.

Sai merely leaned down and bit off a piece of the cookie still hanging out of Sasuke's mouth. He pulled back and chewed happily, leaving Sasuke with his mouth hanging open, the remaining piece of cookie falling from his mouth.

"These are really good. Where'd you get them?" Sai asked.

Sasuke finally gathered his wits enough to hit the other over the head. Hard.

"Deidara made them for us. And if you ever do that again, I'll hit you so hard you'll be in a coma," he told Sai with a glare. The other held his head with one hand and raised them other before him in signal of surrender.

"Okay, won't happen again. Got it," Sai said. Suddenly an evil smirk came on his face.

"Naru-chan doesn't mind it much though," he lied. He may have kissed the blonde, but he was quite sure the other would punch him if he tried it again, or anything like it. Sasuke's eyes narrowed before they went to their usual indifference, making Sai smirk even more.

"Why should I care? You're gay and Uzumaki is a girl. It's different," Sasuke said.

"Is Sasuke afraid of his sexuality? Or is he just jealous of me and Naru-chan?" Sai asked slyly. Sasuke glared harder than before.

"Neither," he said.

"Reeeeeeeeeeeeaally?" Sai pushed.

"Yes Sai, now drop it," Sasuke replied. He picked up the forgotten cookie on the floor and threw it into the trashcan by his desk. Sai sighed.

"Oh Sasu-chan, you're so stubborn. Just admit it and all your stress will go away," he said dramatically.

"Admit what? That you're annoying as hell? Because yes, you are, and now that you know, you can leave me alone so I won't have stress in the first place," Sasuke said sarcastically as he stood from his desk, putting his things in a neat pile.

"No, not that. I already know I'm annoying, and you already know that I won't leave you alone anyway. I mean admitting the fact that you like sweet little Naruko-chan," Sai replied, then added as an afterthought, "or that you're gay. Whichever you want to admit first."

Sasuke met Sai's eyes with a level gaze, anger burning in his stare.

"Sai. I neither like Uzumaki, nor am I gay. You know this, and I know this. Now stop insisting that you know otherwise. Besides, you say that I both am gay and like Uzumaki, which is impossible since Uzumaki is a girl and if I were gay, I would like guys. It's contradicting," Sasuke stated.

"Nothing is impossible," Sai muttered too low for the Uchiha to hear clearly.

"Why are you here anyway? Other than to annoy me," Sasuke asked. They didn't have anything planned, so he was curious.

"No, that was pretty much it," Sai replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked around his friend. Sai followed after him.

"Okay, so maybe that wasn't the only thing I came here to do. I wanted to convince you to go to Kiba-san's party tomorrow," he admitted.

"I'm not going," Sasuke said.

"But it'll be fuuuuun," Sai said in a singsong voice.

"No."

"Come on! Naru-chan will be there!"

Sasuke stopped and turned to look at his friend with a glare. "Knowing that that dobe is going to be there doesn't make me want to go any more than before."

Sai shrugged then said nonchalantly, "Oh well. Just thought you might want to know. You know how parties can be though. Plenty of opportunities for me to molest Naru-chan."

"Sai…" Sasuke growled. He really didn't want to go to that party. Plus, he and the blonde weren't exactly as friendly as they used to be, but damn it, Sai was making his resolve waver. He'd seen his friend attempt to molest the blonde quite a few times already, although he really had no clue as to why his _gay_ friend would want to molest a _girl_. Naruko was already oblivious to enough things that it was certainly easy to imagine Sai, or even someone else getting the blonde alone to molest her. And for some reason, as these thoughts pushed themselves to the front of Sasuke's mind, he felt his heart clench uneasily.

"Well, I guess there's no changing your mind about going to the party. Poor Naru-chan will be so defenseless. Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep her all to myself," Sai said, walking past the Uchiha and into the living room. He sat on the couch and smirked at Sasuke who ground his teeth together in frustration.

Sasuke really didn't want to go to that party…

"…I changed my mind," Sasuke said lowly through clenched teeth. Sai's smirk only widened as he hopped off the couch. Suddenly both boys were next to the front door. Sai already had his shoes back on and was starting to put on his coat. He paused when he noticed the Uchiha wasn't moving.

"What are you waiting for slowpoke? Put your shoes on!" he said.

"Why?"

Sai gave an exasperated sigh and replied, "Because we're going shopping silly."

"…What?"

"Just put your shoes on."

Sasuke sighed. Sai would stop bugging him until he did, so he might as well go with the boy to save himself the annoyance. Although he wasn't sure which was worse, Sai's annoying persistence or Sai in shopping mode. Of course, Sai didn't actually shop for himself. He normally shopped for whomever he was with at the time, making them try on every last thing in the store. Sasuke shuddered, remembering the many times he'd gone shopping with the boy. Maybe staying home and enduring Sai's annoyance was the better idea.

"Too late," Sai said, as though reading the Uchiha's mind. He pulled Sasuke, who barely had time to grab his coat from the rack, out the door and to his car.

"Time to get outfits for the party!" Sai exclaimed happily. Sasuke sighed mentally as he was shoved into the passenger seat, the door slamming as soon as he was in, leaving no room for escape. He just hoped that Sai wouldn't go too overboard.

* * *

So of course Sai did exactly what Sasuke was dreading. They had ended up staying at the mall until closing time, and Sasuke had tried on too many outfits to really care what Sai ended up picking out for him. Sasuke sighed as he threw his bags on the floor near his bed. He could put them away tomorrow before Sai came over. His friend hadn't said he would be coming over, but Sasuke knew he would. That's just the way his friend was.

Itachi had come back before Sasuke woke up the next day and decided to cook for his little brother. He was in a particularly good mood since he was taking a break from the frustrating case of Snake while Tsunade was off investigating the person he'd asked her to. He'd been able to spend a day and night with Deidara just relaxing and letting out his tension.

Sasuke walked tiredly through the house, still waking from sleep. Sasuke was not a morning person, no he wasn't. The smell of eggs and bacon wafted from the kitchen to his nose. For a moment he was back in the past, when his mother would get up early and make huge homemade breakfasts like one would see on TV. Sasuke always thought that they couldn't compare to his mother's cooking at all. He walked into the kitchen, still thinking of the past, but was pulled out of his pleasant dream when he saw Itachi pushing the last of the eggs onto a plate from the pan in his hand. Sasuke looked from his brother to the food, and then back again before sitting down and helping himself to the food Itachi had set out. He didn't say anything until Itachi joined him.

"It reminds me of mom," he said, pushing his eggs around. Itachi was mildly surprised by the statement, but thought it over. Ever since their parents had been killed, Itachi hadn't exactly cooked for them. He'd been busy at work trying to get at the Snake case that had reopened at his family's death, making funeral arrangements for his parents, and finally trying to find some place else to live. He knew staying would only hurt his brother more, being completely surrounded by things that reminded them of their parents wasn't healthy. He'd hoped a change of scenery would be good for his brother, and from what he'd noticed it had been.

"It's been a long time since we sat down like this together," Itachi replied. Sasuke nodded and took a bite of his eggs.

"Did you have a good time last night with Deidara?" he asked.

"I had a very good time otouto. Perhaps you'd like to hear about it," Itachi teased. Sasuke's ears turned red and he glared at his brother.

"No I wouldn't. I'm not particularly interested in your sex life aniki," he said. Itachi chuckled quietly and Sasuke's glare let up. Itachi had missed times like these, when he could just banter with and tease his little brother. He'd have to make more time to do so in the future.

"It's the weekend now. Do you have anything planned?" Itachi asked, just wanting to know what was happening in his brother's life. He'd have to make more time to keep up with that as well.

"I'm going to a party tonight at Inuzuka's," Sasuke replied with a grimace.

"Doesn't look like you want to go," Itachi stated seeing his brother's expression. He sipped the coffee he'd made earlier as he continued to observe.

"Sai wouldn't stop annoying me until I agreed to go," Sasuke said. The older Uchiha smirked.

"That sounds like him," he said.

"What sounds like me?" Sai asked, walking into the kitchen. He immediately set about finding a plate and silverware to use. The two Uchiha were not surprised by his sudden entrance. He had barged in on them enough before they moved to expect it.

"Kidnapping me to a party I'd rather not go to," Sasuke said nonchalantly. Sai made a triumphant sound as he found what he was looking for and brought it to the table.

"But Sasu-chan," he said as he took portions of the eggs and bacon that was left, "You agreed to go remember? So you could protect poor defenseless Naru-chan."

"I wouldn't have to if you didn't try to molest her every two seconds. Actually, never mind. Whatever. I don't care anymore. I'm not going to the party," Sasuke said, standing from the table. He noticed that his brother had somehow slipped out of the room while Sai had occupied his attention.

"Huh? Why? You already said you'd go," Sai said with confusion. "Besides, who's going to protect Naru-chan if you're not there to scare everybody away?"

Sasuke glowered at him and Sai realized the younger Uchiha wasn't joking. He followed the other to his room.

"Come on Sasuke. You said you would go, and if I have to drag you there myself, I'll do it," Sai said seriously.

"I'm not going. I didn't want to go in the first place, and it was a stupid decision to change my mind over something I don't need to worry about," Sasuke told him firmly. He pulled out a book he'd been reading recently, laid down on his bed, and proceeded to ignore his friend. Sai watched from near the doorway impassively.

"So you do worry about Naru-chan," he said. It wasn't accusing; it was just a statement.

Sasuke didn't reply.

Sai walked over to the bed and lay down by the other. He stared up at the ceiling and rested his hands on his stomach. He twiddled his thumbs for a while in silence before Sasuke got fed up and turned to him with a glare. Sai met his stare unwaveringly.

"She likes you, y'know," he said simply.

"Hn." Sasuke turned back to his book, but didn't read it. He just stared blankly at the words trying to comprehend what had been said to him. Sai watched him mull over his thoughts.

"No she doesn't," Sasuke said as he continued to stare at his book. How could she like him? They fought nearly every time they spoke to each other now.

"She does. She won't admit it, but I can tell. Just like I can tell you like her too," Sai told him. He looked back up at the ceiling. "I may not be the best person at emotions myself, but I've observed people long enough to be able to tell from the little things."

Sasuke looked over at his friend with a slight frown.

"You like her too," he said, not quite realizing he'd just admitted. Sai turned to him and grinned.

"Honestly, yes I do. But I can always find another," he said. "Besides, how could I interfere now that you've admitted your feelings for cute little Naru-chan?"

"I didn't…" Sasuke began, his brow furrowed in confusion. Then his words replayed in his mind.

_You like her too._

Damn.

Sai just grinned and hopped up from the bed. He twirled around to face his friend. "Now come on, let's go get ready for the party."

"It's only ten right now. The party doesn't start until seven. We have nine hours," Sasuke said.

"Oh…well that means we'll have just barely enough time, won't it?" Sai said with a wink. Sasuke groaned and rolled his eyes at the other.

"Whatever," he said, and allowed Sai to pull him to the clothes he'd discarded in front of his closet the day before. It was going to be a long nine hours.

* * *

Naruto sipped on his drink as he leaned against a wall near the punch table. He was certain someone had spiked it, and thought it might have even been Kiba who'd done it. It wasn't a party without alcohol right? Naruto normally wouldn't have that much, but today he felt the urge to have more than usual.

The party had started nearly two hours ago, and he'd started drinking about then. Any normal person who hadn't been drunk before would have been smashed by then, but Naruto learned that he had an unusually high tolerance for alcohol. He only felt a little tipsy. Or maybe he was so drunk it felt like he wasn't…

A head of spiked black hair appeared on the other side of the room. He quickly recognized it as Sasuke, and stumbled through the crowd out of the room. He'd been avoiding the Uchiha all night. Since they weren't on the best of terms, he certainly didn't want to have his night ruined by arguing with Sasuke. He didn't want to ruin Sasuke's night either though. So he thought it best to just stay out of the way.

He felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket and quickly pulled it out. It was Iruka-sensei. Whoops. He'd forgotten to tell the man. Tsunade had taken off earlier in the week and left Iruka to check in of Yumi and him to make sure everything was okay. And it had been. He'd just forgotten about the party. Naruto pushed his way through the crowded hallway toward the back door. It would be quieter outside. It seemed like nearly half the school was packed in Kiba's house. As he neared the doorway, he did a double take when he went past an open doorway. The room was a recreational one where Kiba kept all his games. There were multiple couches and chairs, and at the moment, multiple people occupying each space. But the ones that surprised him were a certain red head and brunette that were all over each other. Well…he hadn't quite expected that.

Shaking his head, and regretting it instantly as the room spun a little, he continued toward the back door. Once outside and away from the small group of people smoking on the back porch, Naruto redialed Iruka's number. It rang twice before it was picked up.

_"Naruko-san?"_

"Yes, Iruka-sensei it's me," Naruto replied. He was mildly surprised that he was speaking so clearly. He was beginning to feel the alcohol take effect. Goosebumps started to crawl up his arms as well as the cold air caressed his skin. He'd forgotten that it was winter now and that it would be cold outside.

_"Where are you? I went to check up on you and your mother, and you weren't there."_ He could hear Iruka's frantic, worried expression through the phone. Naruto nearly giggled, but stopped it before it could escape his lips.

"I'm at Kiba's. I forgot to tell you that I was going to his house," he replied.

_"Are you staying overnight?"_ He sounded a little calmer than before.

"Yeah," Naruto said. He began to lose his balance, and stumbled to regain it with a surprised 'whoa'.

_"Are you alright?"_ The concern was back again.

"I fine. I almost tripped over something though," Naruto told his teacher. He needed to end this fast before Iruka realized something else was up. He shivered as a cold wind blew against him.

_"Be careful then."_

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei, I will. I have to go now though."

_"Oh. Alright then. Have fun."_

"Thanks. I will. Bye Iruka-sensei. See you tomorrow," Naruto said quickly, snapping his phone shut before Iruka could even say goodbye. Sakura had just come out and was heading toward him. He smiled.

"Narukooo," the pink girl shouted. She hung over the blonde, who had to support her weight as she slouched. Naruto could tell she was plastered already.

"Hey Sakura-chan," he said with a grin.

"I've been looking for you," she slurred. Her cheeks were red as she smiled up at him. She squinted at him, and then looked him up and down as she stood up on her own.

"You look like a guy!" she exclaimed. "I thought you'd wear a skirt or somethin'."

Naruto shrugged.

"Why were you looking for me?" he asked, getting the attention off of his clothing. He was wearing a pair of slightly baggy jeans with a belt to hold them up, a pair of bright orange sneakers, and a light blue t-shirt that fit him loosely. All had been bought from the boys' section of a store he'd gone to with Yumi when Tsunade had decided he needed some actual boy clothes. Sakura brought a finger to her lips and a look of concentration crossed her face.

"Oh yeah," she said as her face lit up. "I saw you being a wallflower and all depressing and stuff inside and I was going to make you come dance with me, but then you left, and I couldn't find you, and I saw Neji and Gaara going at it, and that was interesting, but then I saw you out here, so came out here too and here I am and there you are, and I want you to stop being such a loner and dance with me."

"Um…okay," Naruto replied with a shrug. Sakura squealed and began to pull him back inside, but stopped suddenly and gave him a strangely serious look despite her being drunk.

"You're not usually like this. Normally you're all over the place. Something wrong?" she asked. Naruto shook his head and grinned at her.

"It's nothing a little dancing won't help," he told her. He didn't want to tell her that he was preoccupied with a certain Uchiha who was confusing the hell out of her. He needed a distraction, and this was as good a distraction as any. Besides, Sakura still had that crush on Sasuke. And admitting that he actually _liked_ the teme to the friend who was crushing on said teme just wasn't something a good friend did. Naruto groaned mentally as he realized what he just thought. No. There was no way in hell he liked that jerk. He really _did_ need a distraction from these stupid thoughts. It was probably from that alcohol he was drinking earlier.

"Come on then," Sakura said happily, forgetting her concern as she pulled her blonde friend back to the house. She nearly tripped and took Naruto down with her, but they regained their balance and kept going, laughing as they did. Yes, he needed this. Naruto was quite glad that Sakura had come to find him now.

* * *

Naruto had been dancing for a while now. He didn't know how long he'd been in the center of the mass of writhing bodies that occupied Kiba's living room, but he knew it was a long time. Everyone was moving, and everyone was hot and sweating from it. Naruto cut his way through the crowd to the edge, feeling the temperature as soon as he was out of the crowd. He wished he'd worn shorts instead of pants, or that he could take off his shirt, but he knew not to. He was nearing being drunk, but he still had enough sense to remember that nobody knew he was a boy.

He stumbled into the kitchen, intent on getting something to drink. He was really thirsty now, and water sounded amazing at the moment. He found an empty red plastic cup and filled it with cold water. He drank half of it at once, letting out a satisfied breath afterward. He surveyed the room, wanting to preoccupy his mind with something lest the thing he was trying to forget come back to his mind. He wasn't quite sure what he was trying to forget now, but he wanted it to stay that way.

A few other people were milling about in the kitchen. Four guys sat around the table with another standing behind one of them, making a pyramid with empty beer cans. They were nearly out of cans and there were still a few more layers that were needed to complete it. They seemed to realize this and sent the youngest of them to get them more beer. The boy stumbled out of the room and Naruto's attention drifted away from them.

A couple was making out by the doorway. He thought about telling them to get a room but decided they could do whatever. It wasn't his problem. His eyes moved on. Two girls were comforting another who was crying in the corner, and a little farther along the wall were three guys talking quietly to themselves. He caught the eye of one of them as they looked at him, and he flashed them a grin to be polite before moving on. There really wasn't anything of much interest in the kitchen, and Naruto sighed.

Sakura was still in the living room, dancing away. He'd lost track of her after the first few minutes of dancing with her. But it hadn't mattered because it was easy to get lost in that crowd of people and just move along with them. He remembered seeing Hinata in the crowd with Kiba right along side her. At one point he was pretty sure he'd danced with Sai. He'd almost left when he'd mistaken the cross-dresser for the Uchiha, but when he looked closer he'd seen it wasn't. So he'd stayed and danced with Sai for most of the time. Eventually Sai was lost to the crowd as Sakura had been, and Naruto went on dancing with whomever was around him until he had decided to leave. Which resulted in where he was at the moment.

"Hey," a voice said from his right. He turned his gaze to the owner of the voice, who happened to be from the group of guys who had been by the wall. He smiled confidently at the blonde.

"Hmmm?" Naruto replied slowly as he looked over the male. Fuzzy as his head was at the moment, he didn't think the boy was even from their school. "I dun 'member seein' you. Friend a' Kiba's?"

"Yeah. My name's Takeru. What's yours?" the boy replied smoothly. Naruto grinned.

"'S Uzumaki Naruto!" he said proudly, not really thinking. They weren't from his school, so who cared if they knew his real name or not.

"Well, Naruko-san, my friend over there thinks you're really cute and wants to ask you to dance with him," Takeru told him, discreetly slipping an arm around the blonde. Naruto looked up at him with a confused expression.

"Then why're you askin' me?" he asked.

"His name's Kanto. He's really shy with cute girls like you," Takeru explained. Naruto giggled.

"Oh. Which one's he?" he asked, looking over to the other two. The taller one was smirking while the other was averting his eyes as a blush covered his cheeks.

"Kanto's on the left. Why don't you go ask him? I'm sure it would make him happy," Takeru suggested. Naruto agreed and sashayed over to the two boys by the wall. He stopped before the blushing boy.

"Kanto-saaaan?" he asked in a sweet voice. The boy looked up at her with surprise and smiled politely.

"Yes?" he replied. Naruto giggled.

"I'm Naruto! You're cute too. Come dance me, please," he said with a grin. Kanto's blush grew as he nodded his consent. Naruto giggled happily.

"Watch my drink Takeru-san," he called to the other boy he'd been talking to as he took Kanto's hand and began to drag him to the living room.

"I will. Have fun," Takeru replied, but the two were already out of the room. Takeru smirked as he looked at the abandoned drink, and the other boy against the wall's smirk grew wider.

* * *

Naruko danced with the boy until Sasuke suddenly appeared by them.

"Sasuke!" Naruko cried with a smile as she saw the other. In the back of her mind, she wanted to run away, but the rest of her wanted to jump on the Uchiha and hug him. So she did. They were near the edge of the dance floor, so it didn't matter much when Sasuke stumbled backward a little. Sasuke pried the blonde off of himself and then took Naruko's hand. He pulled the blonde away from the dancing crowd to the wall, and ended up bringing along another person, whom the blonde had linked hands with. The boy had short brown hair and was blushing. When they stopped, Naruko didn't let go, and the boy made no move to release their hands either. Sasuke noticed this and narrowed his eyes at the boy before staring Naruko down.

"Youuwan'ed ta see me?" Naruto asked.

"You're drunk," Sasuke stated with mild surprise. He couldn't really say he expected that, but guessed it was inevitable really with as much alcohol as people had brought to this party.

"Yes!" Naruko replied with a toothy grin. And the idiot knew she was drunk.

"You've been avoiding me," Sasuke said, getting to the point. He noticed the other boy fidgeting nervously, and Sasuke ignored it. Let the boy squirm. He deserved it for holding hands with the blonde. Naruko frowned at him.

"Na-uh," she denied, shaking his head to emphasize the point. She started to fall off to the side, but the boy beside her caught the blonde and pulled her upright quickly. Naruko giggled and looked up at the boy.

"Thanks," she said. "Ya wanna dance while I talk with 'Suke-teme?"

"No, that's okay," the boy replied. Sasuke felt himself bristle at the familiarity that the two seemed to have. Who _was_ he?

"And this is?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice calm while the inside of his mind raged. He'd admitted that yes, he did like the blonde, but he refused to show that seeing her with another guy set him off. Uchihas weren't _jealous_.

"I'm Kanto. Nice to meet you," the boy said politely. Sasuke decided he was much too polite to like and glared at the boy icily.

"I'm Sasuke. Now fuck off," he replied before focusing on the blonde again. Naruko glared at him.

"Tha's not nice teme! Go be a jerk s'mwhere else!" she told him angrily.

"No," Sasuke refused. "We need to talk. Actually, you need to sober up first, then we need to talk."

"'M nah drunk!" she denied. Sasuke scowled and let out an exasperated breath.

"Yes you are. You even said you were earlier," he said. He saw the boy fidget more and scowled even more.

"Tha' was then! 'M nah drunk now!" Naruko said vehemently. "When'd you star' caring 'nyway teme?"

"You're my friend dobe, of course I care," Sasuke replied a little softer. Naruko frowned, and stared at him, seeming to be debating internally with herself over something. All of a sudden, he was down. Naruko stood over him, shaking her hand out. Then she turned to Kanto.

"Le's go. 'M thirsty," she said tiredly. Kanto nodded hesitantly, and Naruko dragged him off immediately. Sasuke stared after her with confusion and rubbed his jaw where she'd decked him. He was certain it would bruise.

"You know, for being drunk, she has surprisingly good accuracy," Sai commented as he appeared by the Uchiha's side. He helped his friend up. "What'd you say to make her punch you?"

Sasuke frowned and replied, "I told her I cared."

"Huh. Funny thing to get mad over," Sai said nonchalantly, as if he'd expected that answer. Sasuke leveled him with a stare and Sai shrugged. "Come on, let's get you some ice."

* * *

Naruto felt bad. He'd just knocked Sasuke over for saying he cared. In all honesty, hearing that from the normally stoic Uchiha made his heart flutter up into his throat. The suddenness of the feeling and how it had made him speechless scared him, so he'd lashed out. Then he fled instead of apologizing and seeing if Sasuke was all right. He felt strangely sober afterward, like a fog had been cleared from his vision. He realized that he hadn't let go of Kanto yet, and did so on their way back, apologizing if it made him awkward at all. Kanto had replied that it didn't with a blush, and Naruto was reminded that he'd called the boy cute before. He said it again with a smile, and enjoyed the fact that he could make him blush. Maybe Kanto could be a good friend in the future if he ever saw the other again.

When they returned to the kitchen, Naruto took his water from Takeru and gulped the rest of it gratefully. It tasted a bit strange, but he disregarded the thought. Takeru invited him to talk with them for a while and he agreed. He wanted to disappear somewhere for a while so Sasuke couldn't find him, and Takeru's offer seemed like a good excuse. He'd talk to Sasuke later; he just couldn't do it now. He'd apologize then too.

So they talked in one of the non-occupied bedrooms. When Masako, the third guy whose name he learned when they moved to the quieter room, offered him a drink, he accepted. It had a strange aftertaste again, but once again he disregarded it. The rest of them had another round as well.

Naruto learned that they went to a nearby school. They talked about how they knew Kiba, and a few other things until something strange started happening. Naruto's vision began to swim before him. He couldn't tell if it was from the beer he had in his cup or something else, but everything was blurry. Everything tipped off to the right suddenly, and he caught himself as he realized that he was falling over.

"Something wrong?" Kanto asked worriedly. Naruto couldn't seem to focus on his face and his voice sounded far away.

"Mm dun feel s'good," he said. And then his world went black.

* * *

"I'm leaving," Sasuke said finally.

"Nooooooo! Not yet!" Sai cried, holding onto the retreating Uchiha's arm and keeping him in place. Sasuke glared at him.

"Why? I didn't want to come in the first place. It's after one. I'm tired, and I'm going home. Now let me go Sai," he said. Sai pouted at him.

"Just a little longer. Please? I at least want to find Naru-chan and say goodbye before you drag me out too," he pleaded. Sasuke stared at him, and Sai batted his eyes. The Uchiha groaned.

"Whatever. I'll wait for you here," he replied, finding a wall to lean against.

"Why don't you come help me find her? You wanted to talk to her didn't you? And you saw how drunk she was before. Maybe we could take her home before she does something stupid," Sai said.

"Hn. She probably already has. Besides, I doubt she wants to see me now. That punch pretty much said what she thinks of me and what I have to say," Sasuke replied with a scowl. Sai rolled his eyes.

"She was drunk and you finally said you cared. Right after you'd been being a jerk to her, mind you. Just let her sober up, then talk to her. Either way, it's probably best if we take her home now," he told the other seriously. They held each other's gaze for a minute before Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall.

"Whatever," he said apathetically.

"Sasuke-san! Sasuke-san!" a voice called urgently. Suddenly the boy from earlier burst through the small crowd beside the pair with a frantic look on his face and let out a sigh of relief as his eyes found the one he was looking for.

"You know him?" Sai asked his friend. Sasuke didn't have time to reply as the boy began speaking.

"Sasuke-san! I know you don't like me and I know we only met once—"

"You only met once and you already hate him?" Sai asked.

"—but I think Naruto-san is in trouble. I-I'm not really sure, but I know how they can be, and I just thought since you seemed like a friend of hers that—" Kanto said hurriedly before he was cut off by a confused Sasuke.

"Naruto?" he asked. Sai was a shade paler beside the Uchiha.

"Naruko-chan," he told the other. Sasuke turned to the other, mildly surprised. Why was this boy calling the blonde by another name? And how did Sai know he was referring to Naruko?

"Huh?" Kanto said, confused now as well.

"The girl. Naruto-chan. Where is she? What happened?" Sai asked, ignoring their confusion. If she were in trouble, it was more important to help her than to explain to them why he knew the blonde by both names. Kanto shook his head, seeming to follow the same thought process as Sai.

"I was with two other guys from my school. We aren't really friends but we hang out sometimes. I knew they were into weird shit, but I didn't think they did this kind of thing," he told the other.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, his expression serious and hiding his contained anger. He stared intently at the bumbling boy before him with something akin to anxiety rising in his chest.

"I-I think they slipped something into her drink. We were all talking and-and then she just fell over! I went to go get her something that might help because I thought she just got really drunk, but then Takeru-san and Masako-san started saying weird shit and I got freaked out and went to find you because I know I can't do jackshit to them, and they know it too," Kanto rambled.

"Where is she?" Sasuke demanded. Kanto flinched at the fire in his eyes.

"Th-this way," he said quickly before turning and disappearing into the crowd. Sasuke and Sai followed closely behind, each worrying about the blonde and whatever danger she could be in.

* * *

Naruto felt like he was floating. Everything was still dark, but he could feel himself coming down. Like he was just a spirit and was now being sucked back into his body. And it felt very constricting. Or at least, it felt like his whole body was made of lead. He couldn't move an inch, and his vision was still shot. Sounds, far away and muffled, started to reach his ears, and then became clearer and clearer. His muddled mind wondered what was happening and how he ended up like this. He remembered talking to Takeru, Masako, and Kanto, and then darkness. _What happened?_

Suddenly his sense of touch came back. He hadn't realized he was missing it, but there it was, back again. He felt hands on him. On his stomach, on his face, his cheek was slimy and wet with something. He didn't really want to know what it was. He could already feel himself seizing up. Those hands were touching him more intimately than they would if they were just checking him over. Who was it? Who was touching him like this? He didn't want to be touched like this!

As he struggled to open his eyes, he felt hands on his chest now, rubbing, causing friction against his skin with the rough fabric of his shirt, and he felt a little better knowing he was still clothed. But it didn't cover the shock that came too. Finally his eyes opened and he wanted to scream at what he saw, but no sound came forth. Takeru was occupying himself with Naruto's stomach now, licking and biting harshly. Masako was a little farther away holding a camera in place with a smirk in place. The red light was on. It was recording.

Dread trickled down Naruto's spine. He wanted to kick and scream and yell and fight, anything to get Takeru off of him and to destroy the camera Masako had, but he still could budge. His fingers twitched in pain each time a new mark was made on his stomach, but his arms lay useless beside him.

"Hey Takeru. She woke up," Masako said, his smirk widening even more. Takeru looked up at Naruto's face, smirk matching his friend's, and moved closer.

"That was quick. But I guess we should have expected that when the first of it didn't work on her," Takeru said. There was hunger in his eyes and Naruto began to shake, knowing what it was.

"Well now she'll be awake to enjoy it too," Masako replied. The blonde's eyes darted between the two, absolutely terrified of where this was going.

"True," Takeru said with a shrug. He licked his lips in anticipation and Naruto managed a quiet whimper. Tears began to leak from his eyes. "Oh, shush. It won't be that bad. How about we skip the foreplay and just get on with it? Then you'll see how good it'll be."

Hands grasped the top of the blonde's jeans, ripped them open, and pulled them down. Naruto cried out weakly.

"No!" his voice whispered when he meant to shout. More tears gushed out as Takeru ignored his plea and began to rub his thigh before moving up to the waistband of his boxers.

"Chick wears boxers. Guess she's more of a tomboy than we thought," Takeru joked, turning to the other. Naruto's breath caught and he had a sudden glimmer of hope. They thought she was a girl. Sick as it sounded, when they saw he was a boy, maybe they'd leave him alone.

"Those are always the better ones anyway," Masako replied. Takeru turned back to the blonde and yanked the boxers down. The two started at the sight and Naruto waited, hoping they would give up now that they'd thoroughly humiliated him.

"Fuck man," Masako said in a voice of disbelief. "The chick's a dude."

Takeru glared down at him and said with venom, "Fucking faggot."

"Leave me alone, please," Naruto begged for good measure.

"Tch," Takeru said with a sneer.

"What'd you wanna do now Takeru?" Masako asked. He'd turned the camera off. Takeru stared at him like he was an idiot for asking.

"He wants to dress like a girl, he'll get fucked like a girl," he replied with a smirk. He turned back to Naruto who had frozen once again and stared back at him with wide eyes. "Besides, faggot here needs a punishment."

Takeru was on him again, tearing the shirt and bra from the blonde. Soon enough they were off and Takeru was fumbling with his own pants with one hand and feeling Naruto up with the other. Naruto struggled with his heavy body to resist Takeru's advances and managed to throw his arm at the boy's head. It knocked him over. Adrenaline rushed through the blonde as he created an opportunity. The heaviness in his limbs faded slightly, but it was enough for him to be able to throw himself away from Takeru. He made to pull his boxers on at the very least before bolting for the door, but was tackled from behind by Masako who had abandoned the camera on the floor.

"Bitch," Takeru scowled as he approached the struggling blonde who was being held down. Tears streamed down Naruto's face even faster. He doubted he'd have another chance to make a break for the door. Not while he was being held face down against the floor.

Suddenly the doorknob rattled. Naruto hoped whoever it was would open the door and save him, but as it stopped rattling, his hope was crushed. Of course the door was locked. Besides, it was probably just some couple wanting a room to themselves. Tears of despair washed over his cheeks as he came to this conclusion. Screw if they were a couple or not. If they were still out there, hell if anyone were out there, he needed their help.

"Help! Please! Come back!" Naruto shouted. He was surprised with the volume of his voice, as he'd barely been able to whisper before. It was like a clamp had been released from his throat and allowed him to speak. Grateful for that fact, he didn't waste it. He yelled again and again until his mouth was covered with a large hand, muffling his voice. But his effort hadn't been in vain. Loud thumping started against the door, as if someone were ramming it or trying to kick it in. Naruto wanted to smile and shout for joy, but he could feel Takeru right behind him and his terror was kicking back in. He struggled against Masako even more, feeling that it was growing even more useless as he felt himself tire from trying to flail his still heavy limbs.

And then he was free, kicking into thin air. No one was behind him either. He sat up quickly and saw Sai and Sasuke attacking his almost rapists. He turned his wide eyes to another presence that had ended up beside him. It was Kanto. Kanto. He had been there. He knew what the other two were going to do. And he had gotten help and saved Naruto.

Kanto gave the blonde his torn clothes and asked if he were all right. Naruto could barely say a word. He couldn't tell if he were fine or not. He was just glad it was over.

Sasuke and Sai were in front of him suddenly, asking him if he were okay. Naruto saw Sasuke's concern behind his stoic mask and was reminded of the Uchiha's words to him earlier. And his guilt from before came rushing to the forefront of his mind. He focused on it, not wanting to focus on anything else, because he felt like he wouldn't get a chance to say how sorry he was.

"I'm sorry Sasuke. I'm sorry. I don't hate you. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," he rambled, his tears coming back. He wasn't sure when they had stopped before, he guessed maybe when Kanto had started talking to him, but they were there again, full force. He felt so guilty toward Sasuke, and he just focused on it until suddenly he wasn't even sure if he was apologizing for punching the Uchiha earlier. He was just apologizing. It didn't matter if Sasuke said he forgave him a million times over. Naruto just kept saying he was sorry, that he didn't hate the Uchiha. He was barely coherent now, but he kept at it.

Why was he apologizing anymore? He'd punched Sasuke. He apologized again for it. He didn't hear Sasuke's response. There was something else. Something he'd wanted to apologize for from the beginning. For lying. For saying he was someone he wasn't. For tricking the Uchiha. And most of all for loving him through all of it. He apologized for it all but never told the other why. He didn't want Sasuke to find out yet. He just wanted Sasuke to know he was sorry for it all.

And then a voice cut through his blubbering. That's all it was now. Not even coherent words, just his sobbing.

"Naruto," Sai said with all the tact of a two year old, "pull up your pants."

* * *

**A/N: **And it's done! Intense right? Hopefully? Did I get it out soon enough? It's double the chapter, so it should be. I wanted to give you an amazing long chapter last time, but it like this one better. Sorry for the cliffy, but this needed to end before I lost control of my plot bunny. But I gave you the climax! Haha! I think this thing has like two climaxes… This was the first tiny bump climax, and then the next one will be at the end! And then we'll be done! Oh, that's so sad to think about, but don't worry. That's still a while off. Not too long though. Things will probably start moving faster in the story now, ad hopefully my typing skills will be able to keep up with it. If not for my sake, then for all of yours.

So this is now rated M for that little almost raping of Naru-chan (sorry about that kiddies, by the way, but at least it didn't actually happen), and for potential goriness in the future. We still have Snake to worry about people, so take that into account. I'm quite excited for his part by the way, so hopefully it will be amazingness when I write it.

Thank you everyone who has stayed with me this far. Reviewers you are loved for all the happy happy feelings I get when I read what you think, and all you other peeps who just like to chill and enjoy the story quietly are loved as well just for boosting my hits counter. You are all awesome and deserve cookies! Hooray! So please, continue to feed my plot bunny so it can grow big and strong and provide me with inspiration to finish this story! Please and thank you!

**Disclaimer:** does anyone actually read these things? Well, in case they do, I don't own Naruto.


	15. Chapter 15

"Naruto, pull up your pants," Sai had said. Naruto pressed his forehead against the cold glass window of Sai's car and closed his eyes tightly. He imagined himself becoming invisible or melting into the car's back seat. Sasuke sat in the front passenger seat ignoring the blonde's existence, and Naruto wished it could be just as easy for him to do the same. He knew. Sasuke knew.

How could he not know? Sasuke had seen him stripped of clothes, naked for the world to see. It didn't help that a crowd had gathered at the room's door, attracted by the loud crashes and yells, to see him as well, or that most of them were from his very own school. So now _they_ knew too.

_Fuck_, Naruto thought, biting the inside of his cheek and taking a big breath to calm himself. His eyes burned, but he didn't want to cry anymore. It was stupid of him to have cried that much back there, to _Sasuke_ no less. He was so stupid…

"You should go to the police Naruto," Sai said, breaking the thick silence as they drove into the night. The blonde flinched at the sound of his actual name. Just another reminder of his stupidity.

"Just take me home Sai," he replied. He just wanted to go home and sleep. He wanted to be away from Sasuke and his cold attitude, and to just forget everything that had happened that night. But most of all, he just wanted to sleep.

His thoughts drifted, as Sai didn't reply, back to what had happened. It all seemed to blur together, but he remembered Sai telling him to pull up his pants. Aside from being utterly humiliated and embarrassed to be seen vulnerable and naked, he was mortified and scared because _he was naked_. And Sasuke was right there in front of him. And being the observant person he was, the Uchiha had immediately seen what was wrong with the picture. He hadn't spoken or so much as looked at the blonde since. Naruto had adamantly refused to look at Sasuke's face when the other had his epiphany. He didn't want to see the disgust and betrayal and anger and hurt that were sure to be flashing through those eyes, or worse his entire face, because Sasuke barely let emotion show on his perfect porcelain face. And if it had covered Sasuke's face, Naruto couldn't stand to know and feel his heart break even more.

"Naruto—" Sai began again. Naruto flinched again.

"Stop," he said, "saying my name. Just take me home."

Sai didn't reply again, and Naruto retreated to his memories again. He'd seen Kanto's face when he'd realized that Naruto was indeed not a girl. It was mostly surprise, shock, and embarrassment that had taken his features. He hadn't run away, for which Naruto was glad in a strange sort of way. He'd never met the boy before in his life, and yet he cared what the other thought of him. Anyway, while Naruto attempted to dress himself, Kanto had attempted to shoo the crowd away. When they didn't leave right away, Sasuke had gotten up. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd done, but whatever it was, it had made the crowd disappear. The blonde was grateful, and had tried to thank Sasuke for getting rid of the onlookers, but Sasuke had merely ignored him and asked Sai what they were going to do. Kanto had wanted to call the police too, but Naruto had refused then as well.

Sai had asked if he wanted a ride home, and Naruto had accepted gratefully. He didn't have any other options, and Sai driving him home was better than walking. He wasn't even sure if he'd really be able to. His legs felt so unsteady for some reason.

Before leaving Kanto had given him his number and asked the blonde to call with that cute blush of his, saying he just wanted to be able to know how he was doing. Naruto had smiled and said he would, although at that point he wasn't really sure if he'd really do it. Then they'd hurried out to the car and driven off, bringing him to the present with Sai silently thinking, Sasuke ignoring everything around him, and Naruto wishing he could just sleep.

He didn't realize that he _had_ fallen asleep until he felt a hand on his leg. Images flashed in his minds eye and he jumped, frightened. He reigned in his emotions as he saw it was just Sai, and cursed himself for the reaction. He hadn't been raped. He shouldn't be scared. He just shouldn't.

"I'm fine," the blonde said with a frown at Sai's concerned eyes. Naruto opened the door with a sigh and thanked the dark haired boy as he began to get out. As an after thought, he paused and looked forward, trying to look through the headrest of the passenger seat up front to Sasuke and mumbled, "Sorry," before getting out the rest of the way. He didn't look back as Sai drove away. He walked to the door of Tsunade's dark house, his home, with purpose, and tears dripped down his cheeks once again. _Kuso…_

* * *

Monday. The worst possible day of the week, and at the moment, of his entire life. Naruto really wasn't ready for the weekend to be over. He was certain the people who'd seen him at the party, and been sober, had spread the gossip by now. He didn't want to face their stares or hear the whispers that were sure to follow him, but he'd have to sooner or later. He'd rather it be sooner than later so he could nip any crazy rumors in the bud if he could, not that his very reasoning wasn't as crazy as any of the ideas people from his school could make up. He sighed once again as the school came into view and shifted nervously in his seat. He glanced at Sai whose grip was rather tight on the steering wheel as they approached the school. The brunette caught his glance and threw him a disarming smile. He parked the car and they sat there for a minute. Sai waited for Naruto to gather his wits.

"You ready?" Sai asked when the blonde shifted again, determination lining his expression. Naruto grinned at him.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied. "Let's get this over with."

"Right," Sai said with a nod. Both exited the vehicle and walked toward the school. Other students who were also walking to the school paused as they saw the pair. Some began to whisper; others looked away and quickened their pace, while others still stared on with a strange expression on their face. Naruto's step faltered as he noticed the sudden tension in the air, and he resisted the urge to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Then Sai's hand bumped into his and he was reminded that he wasn't alone. Strange and annoying as Sai could be, Naruto was very glad and grateful to have the brunette stand by him.

Sai walked him to his first period class, but left him at the door, needing to attend to some art related things. Naruto tried to stall his departure, but was found out. Sai just smiled, a true smile for once, and said he'd find him before lunch. He even promised to show the blonde what he'd been working on and drive him home after school had ended. So Sai left, and Naruto peered into his homeroom nervously. Standing out in the hall wasn't much better, but he'd have to go in some time.

He walked in with as much confidence he could muster and tried to block from his mind the fact that every eye was immediately on him, with the exception of one, as soon as he did. He sat stiffly between Sasuke, the exception, and Hinata, who seemed to be torn between saying something and keeping it to herself. In the end she said nothing. A few whispered conversations started, but none were loud enough for him to hear. He'd buried his face into his arms as soon as he'd gotten to his seat, hiding his burning face and blocking his view of the stares and Sasuke's cold shoulder and Hinata's floundering.

Class started and he was reluctant to raise his head. He doubted Iruka-sensei had heard the gossip, but he couldn't be sure. Still, if everyone else knew, Iruka would learn it sometime too. He wondered how his favorite teacher would react.

"Naruko-san, please don't sleep in my class. It's still only first period," Iruka's voice sounded from the front of the room. The blonde bit his lip, released it, and then lifted his head as asked. His eyes met Iruka's and the brunette didn't look away.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei," he replied. The teacher began to turn, satisfied with the apology, but was stopped as Naruto spoke again, his voice wavering a little even as he tried his best to keep it steady. "And my name is Naruto, not Naruko."

"W-what?" Iruka asked, taken off guard.

Naruto merely met his gaze unwaveringly and repeated, "Please call me Naruto, not Naruko, Iruka-sensei."

The brunette looked bewildered and at a loss for words for the sudden admission, but shook himself out of it quickly, knowing he had a class to teach.

"O-okay. Well…please don't sleep in my class Naruto-san," Iruka said. And with that he went straight on with his intended less, although he seemed a bit distracted. Naruto was certain the teacher would want to ask him about the change of name as soon as class ended, but he already had plans to beat it out of there as soon as the bell rang.

* * *

His classes went on like that until lunch. Every time he saw his any of his friends, he'd duck behind whatever he could find until they passed him by. He knew he'd have to face them, but he wanted to put it off until later. In chemistry, he was partnered with Sasuke like always. In the entire class, the Uchiha had said a total of seven words to him. Naruto would know; he'd counted.

**_Seven's a lucky number_,**a voice said cheerfully as he got ready to leave the chemistry room and go to lunch. Naruto jumped, nearly knocking his books off the table as he did so. He caught them before they fell and glared down at them briefly before picking them up and walking out of the classroom deciding to ignore the voice and the strange look Anko-sensei had sent him.

_**Oh don't ignore me. It's been such a long time since we talked. Don't tell me you forgot about me**_,Kyuubi whined inside his head. Naruto resisted the urge to scowl.

_We're only talking because I forgot my damn pills again_, he replied.

**_So cold_,** Kyuubi said with fake hurt. Naruto arrived at his locker and quickly spun in his combination.

**_You've been stressed lately. I can feel it. Is it from that Uchiha kid? You know I could always talk to him for you_**, Kyuubi told him.

_No. I'm not letting you out if I can help it. As soon as I go home I'm going to take my pills and we'll never speak again,_ Naruto said definitely. He dumped his books into the locker and grabbed his lunch. Then he asked as an afterthought, Why did it take you so long to speak up anyway?

**_Because brat, I couldn't. Those pills really work. It's like waking up from a coma or some really long sleep. And I only really woke up because you're distressed about something. Now tell me what it is or I'll find out myself_,** Kyuubi replied. Naruto sighed, regretting having not taken his pills. He'd been so nervous last night that he hadn't fallen asleep until three hours before he needed to be up, and then he'd only woken up when Sai came to pick him up. He'd gotten the quickest shower of his life, thrown on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and tied his long hair up into a ponytail. Luckily they'd still made it on time. Thinking about his hair, he grimaced. He'd really need to cut it now.

_You finally got what you wanted. I'm back to being a boy_, he told Kyuubi as he began to look around for Sai. He should be arriving soon.

Kyuubi went silent as the blonde searched for his fellow cross-dresser. He spotted the brunette at the end of the hallway and started toward him. He nearly tripped as Kyuubi startled him with an outburst.

**_I'll _****kill**** _those guys! Why didn't you kill them? Or get the police? You baka brat!_**

Naruto continued on as if he wasn't getting yelled at inside his head.

_If you aren't going to be helpful, not that you ever are, then shut up and go away Kyuubi_, he replied, cutting off the other's rant about how thoughtless he was. Kyuubi paused before grumbling and doing as he was told. Naruto hadn't quite expected that to happen, but he was happy that it had. He smiled as he approached Sai.

"Hey," he said.

"You ready?" Sai asked.

**_No_, **Kyuubi answered for him.

"Yes," Naruto replied, ignoring the voice.

"Let's go," Sai said as they headed toward the cafeteria.

_Kyuubi?_ Naruto questioned in his mind.

**_Yes?_**

_You're not helping._

**_Damn._**

* * *

"So do you want to sit with them or not?" Sai asked as they entered the lunchroom.

"Let's see if they'll let me or not first," Naruto said nervously as his eyes found the already filled table. In the back of his mind he wondered how they all got there before him since he was normally one of the first people to arrive to lunch everyday.

They approached the group, attracting the attention of anyone they passed. Just like that morning, Sai's hand reached over and touched his, and Naruto felt better for having someone beside him. The entire group was staring at him again with the exception of Sasuke. Sai immediately took his seat and Naruto hesitated before taking his as well. Sasuke stiffened beside him, but he ignored it and was happy that at least the Uchiha hadn't run off the moment he'd sat down. He looked timidly from face to face. Kiba, oblivious to tension as usual, decided to break the silence.

"Hey, Uzumaki. How about those rumors right? I mean, they came from drunk people, right? So they must have been seeing things. We'll just have to go and tell everyone the truth-"

"Inuzuka," Sai said sharply, cutting the dog-lover off. Kiba glared at him.

"Kiba-san," Naruto started, catching his attention with the change of suffix. The blonde met his gaze, determined not to back down from what he needed to do. "They're telling the truth. So let it go."

"What?" Sakura whispered.

"So you're telling us you're really a guy?" Ino demanded.

"Yes, Ino-san. I am and always have been a boy, and my actual name is Naruto," he replied. He bowed his head and continued, "I'm very sorry that I've lied to you all. I was going to tell you-"

"Save it," Ino said as she stood from her seat.

"If you were going to tell us, you should have done it when we first met," Sakura said, standing as well. Both left quickly. Naruto kept his head down.

"This is just too weird for me," Kiba said. "You can come sit with me if you want Hinata."

Naruto peered up at the shorthaired girl. Her cheeks were on fire as usual as she looked between Kiba and the blonde. Finally she settled her gaze on the brunette boy.

"I-I'm going to stay with…N-Naruto-kun," she replied, surprising the blonde. He'd thought that she would decided to take Kiba up on his offer. She looked over at Naruto. "Th-that is, i-if you want me here."

"Of course I do Hinata-chan," he said. He smiled a little gratefully and she blushed a little more. She really was a sweet girl.

"Whatever," Kiba said and walked away. The only people left were Gaara, Neji, Hinata, Sai, and Sasuke. For a moment he held hope that Sasuke wasn't really mad at him, despite his cold attitude. But then Sasuke stood abruptly, still stiff and refusing to look at the blonde. He gathered his things and was about to walk away when Sai grabbed his arm. The Uchiha glared at his friend.

"Let go Sai," he commanded.

"Don't be childish Sasuke," Sai retorted, glaring right back. Naruto's eyes flickered between the two. Sasuke glanced at the blonde before tearing his arm from the other's grasp and walking away. An awkward silence fell on the remaining people and Naruto began fiddling with the ends of his sleeves, trying to push back the pain that had erupted in his chest with the Uchiha's departure.

"You two aren't going to leave?" Sai asked the two who had yet to speak. Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Why?" he replied.

"He's apologized. I see no reason to begrudge him," Neji continued for the red head. Sai nodded and Naruto smiled at them.

"Thanks, really," the blonde said, looking at each of them. "It means a lot that you've stayed."

"It's no problem," Gaara replied. "Just don't start crying like a girl. You never did when you pretended to be one, so there should be no reason to start now."

Naruto giggled. "Don't worry, I won't Gaara-kun."

"Yes. Naruto-kun is man now and men don't cry!" Sai exclaimed. Naruto punched him lightly in the air.

"What do you mean 'now'. I've always been a man. Why do you think you were always trying to cop a feel, you pervert?" he retorted.

"Y-you knew?" Hinata asked quietly, surprise lining her voice. There was no resentment, just curiosity, and it made the two boys pause.

"Uh, yeah. He knew," Naruto replied sheepishly.

"He didn't tell me. I just figured it out. I am a cross-dresser myself, after all. And I kept it a secret because Naru-chan is just too cute," Sai said, reaching over and pinching the blonde's cheek. Naruto slapped his hand away with a glare and a blush.

"Jerk," he muttered. Hinata giggled at the exchange.

"I'm curious. Why would you hide something like your gender for as long as you have?" Neji asked with interest. Naruto could tell both Hinata and Gaara were listening intently as well, and he sighed. He gave them a suddenly weary smile.

"Honestly, that's something I'd rather not talk about right now. But this whole charade has gone on so long because I just got used to being a girl, and, after the first couple of years at the same school, it would have just been weird to walk in one day and say, 'Hey everybody, it's me, Naruko. Oh, by the way, I'm actually a boy and my name is really Naruto. Just thought you should know.' So I just never thought about saying anything otherwise," he told them.

"You said you were going to tell us though. When was that going to happen?" Gaara asked. Again, Naruto heard no hatred or anger. It was strange. He was expecting everyone to hate him once they found out, but instead he'd kept four people beside him.

"I don't know. Soon, maybe. Before this baka pervert came," he gestured to Sai, "I was planning to just never say anything. We would have graduated and gone off to different colleges. We wouldn't see each other anymore. I would have changed back then, I guess, but now you all know."

"I see," Neji said thoughtfully. Sai toyed with the blonde's hair a little and frowned at it.

"Your hair is nice and all, but since everyone knows now, it would be a good idea to get it cut soon," he suggested.

"Yeah," Naruto replied with a grin. He took a long strand of his hair and looked down at it. "It's gonna feel really weird to have short hair again."

"Don't worry, you'll be just as cute with short hair as you are with long," Sai said, smiling sweetly. Naruto stuck out his tongue at the brunette even as a faint blush came to his cheeks. Still, even as Sai teased him and he talked and joked with his friends, Naruto wished in the back of his mind that one person hadn't left and taken his heart with him.

* * *

Sai had driven him home after showing him his work in progress. The painting was large. Layers of blues and grays were covering the entire canvas, but in the middle were two tan blobs. They were in the shape of two people, one a girl and the other a boy from what detail there was. A distinct black outline surrounded each of their front sides as they stood back to back, but there was no line to separate the two bodies where they touched, as if they were one, blending together. There were more outlines and other spots of color on them to indicate eyes and other facial features, or the edges and wrinkles of their clothing. When he looked closer, he could see in the blues and grays of the background that there were darker shades hinting at the outlines and shadows of other people moving about. It wasn't finished, and Sai had told him he didn't want to show it again until it was. Naruto had complimented him and replied that he was excited to see it finished.

"Naruto! How was school today?" Yumi asked cheerfully from the kitchen when he walked in, calling out that he was home. He could smell the aroma of baking cookies and smiled. He set his things down and entered the kitchen area to see his mother pulling off a pair of oven mitts and wearing an apron with some flour and batter sprinkled on it in places. He smiled even more at her appearance, feeling better than he had before.

**_She looks well_****, **Kyuubi said, breaking the blonde's good mood. Kyuubi had stayed quiet throughout the rest of the school day. He'd nearly forgotten about the voice until it finally got tired of staying quiet for so long.

_Shut it, I don't need this right now_, Naruto growled in his head tiredly as he greeted his mother.

"Hey 'kaa-san," he said and sat down at the table with a bit of a heavy sigh. Yumi passed him the bowl of left over cookie batter along with a spoon.

"Bad day?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Kind of. A lot of my friends are mad at me right now and I wish they weren't," he told her. He looked up and felt so grateful that she was still here and that their relationship was better now. He guessed Kyuubi was partly responsible for it, but he never wanted to admit it.

**_You're welcome_,** Kyuubi said proudly. Naruto ignored him and continued with what he was saying.

"Still, I know that they have every right to be mad at me. All of them should be mad at me right now actually, but some of them aren't."

"What happened?" she asked, concern painted on her face. She grabbed a spoon, and then sat down and began eating the left over batter with him.

"I lied to all of them. Right to their faces too. About something big too-"

The doorbell rang.

Naruto smiled at his mother and stood, waving for her to stay put.

"I'll get it," he said.

**_You're such a good little boy_**, Kyuubi said.

_And you're such an annoying leech_, Naruto replied as he arrived at the door. He opened it and came face to face with his favorite teacher.

"Iruka-sensei," the blonde said, a bit surprised. He knew Tsunade had asked the man to check in on them, but she was coming back that night. He shouldn't have needed to come, but Naruto reasoned that he should have expected it. He hadn't talked to the man after class and avoided him the rest of the day as well, after all. Of course Iruka would come for answers.

"Naruko-san, I mean…Naruto-san," the teacher greeted with an incline of his head. The stood quietly for a minute before Yumi called out, "Who is it Naruto?"

"It's Iruka-sensei. I forgot I was supposed to meet him for something. I'll be right back, okay 'kaa-san?" the blonde replied from the doorway.

"Alright. The cookies should be done soon, so Iruka-sensei is welcome to stay if he wants to when you get back," she called back from the kitchen. Naruto slipped on his shoes and coat, said goodbye, and shut the door behind him. He looked up at his teacher and smiled weakly.

"Hey Iruka-sensei," he said. "Can we walk and talk?"

"Ah…sure," the man consented. Naruto lead the way down the driveway to the sidewalk. They walked in silence until Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He didn't look at the other, afraid of what he'd see, and not strong enough to without Sai there beside him again.

"Please don't be mad that I've lied to you too," he said. There was a pause before Iruka replied.

"I'm not mad," he said. "I'm a little sad and hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me, though. That's all."

"But you're not mad at me? You're not mad that I've lied to you? That I'm not who I've always said I was?" Naruto insisted, looking up at his teacher.

"Why would I be mad at you for any of that?" Iruka asked, a bit surprised at his student's insistence that he should be mad at the other.

"Because it's disgusting, it's wrong. I've been pretending to be a girl this whole time. I didn't even want to be a girl, but I did it anyway. It was stupid and I just kept lying to everybody and that's just the worst thing I could have done to my friends and…and—"

"Naruto-san," Iruka said firmly, yet softly. Naruto could feel tears burning behind his eyes once again, but he refused to let anymore fall. He hated being so weak. And at the moment he hated himself like all the others in his life should hate him now, despite the fact that some of them didn't. He felt hands rest on his shoulders.

"Naruto-san," Iruka said again in the same tone. "Look at me."

The blonde looked up as he was told and resisted the urge to look away again. Iruka was always so accepting, so nice. Naruto felt so unworthy of it.

**_Listen to him brat_,** Kyuubi said quietly. And for once, Naruto wasn't mad at him for speaking up.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm not disgusted either. Yes I'm a little hurt, but it doesn't matter. If I were mad, I wouldn't have come," Iruka said. "So you've been pretending to be a girl. I don't know your reasons for doing so, or why you chose now for everyone to know the truth, but at least you've told the truth. Besides, all you've been hiding is your gender. You haven't been lying about who you are. You're you, and that won't change whether you're a boy or a girl. And I'm sure your friends feel the same way as I do."

Naruto shook his head.

"Not all of them," he said quietly, looking down again. Iruka pulled him into a hug, which the blonde returned gratefully.

"I'm sure they'll come around. True friends will accept each other the way they are, but for some, sudden changes take a little getting used to," Iruka told him.

"I know," Naruto said into the man's shoulder. "I know. But that doesn't stop it from hurting when they leave."

* * *

_Ding!_

"Cookies are done!" Yumi sang happily. She pulled on her oven mitts and pulled out the tray of freshly baked confections. She'd wanted to do something special for when her friend returned from her trip. So she had dug out a recipe and tried her luck at making homemade chocolate chip cookies from scratch. They smelled delicious, and she hoped that they tasted just as good. Suddenly the doorbell rang. She wasn't sure when Naruto would be coming back, but she guessed that it wasn't her son, seeing as he would have simply walked in instead of ringing the doorbell.

"Coming!" she exclaimed as she pulled off the mittens and apron. Then she made her way over to the front door and opened it. Before her stood a tall man with silver hair drawn up into a ponytail and glasses balanced delicately on his nose. He wore black coat over a dark blue button up shirt and tan slacks. Although he looked handsome, his features seemed a little stretched, like they'd been pulled back tighter against his face than they should be. She dismissed the thought in favor of greeting the stranger.

"Konichiwa. And who might you be?" Yumi asked with a smile. The man smiled back.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, but my name is Kabuto. I used to baby sit Naruto-kun, your son, when he was younger," he replied.

"I see. My memory isn't the best at the moment, so I'm afraid I don't remember much at all. But if you used to baby sit Naru-chan, then it's very nice to see you again, Kabuto-san," she said with a slight bow. He bowed in return.

"It's good to see you as well. Would you mind if I came in for a little?" he asked.

"Not at all. Please, make yourself at home," she told him, moving aside to let him in.

"Arigatou," he said as he entered.

"This way please," Yumi said, leading him to the living room. "Naruto isn't here right now, but he should be home soon. I'm sure he'd love to catch up with you. Would you like anything to eat or drink while you wait?"

"No thank you. I'll be fine just waiting," Kabuto responded. He sat on the recliner and Yumi took her place on the large couch.

"Alright. Just ask if you need anything then," she told him. She leaned forward a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to drop in?"

"Well, I'm here visiting an old friend right now. Naruto and I were quite close back then, but after Arashi's death you all moved away so quickly. It's just been so long, and I remembered that you had moved here, so I just wanted to see how you two were doing," Kabuto explained.

"Ah, I see. We're both doing quite well actually. Naruto's been doing well in school and I've been looking after the house while Tsunade-chan is gone. She's coming home later tonight if you'd like to stay and meet her. Or have you met her before? I can't remember," Yumi rambled, a frown appearing. The door opened suddenly and she smiled again.

"That must be him now," she said, hopping up to greet her son. Kabuto remained where he was, preferring to wait.

"Welcome back," Yumi said to the two in the doorway.

"Hello Uzumaki-san," Iruka said with a smile. "I'm afraid I can't stay for long."

"He's got a date with Kakashi-sensei later on," Naruto added with a smirk. Iruka blew up in red.

"I-It's not a date! We're just having dinner together!" he exclaimed.

"Sure, sure, Iruka-sensei. Having a private, romantic dinner together with the man of your dreams isn't a date," Naruto replied flippantly. Iruka sputtered and Yumi giggled.

"I see. Well then, we should send you on your way so you won't be late, shouldn't we?" she said.

"It's not a date," Iruka repeated tiredly.

"Are you going to come in?" Naruto asked. The brunette shook his head.

"I really do have to go, but not to get ready because it's a date. I just have some errands I need to run before I meet him tonight," he replied.

"Oh, wait a moment," Yumi said as an idea came to her. She rushed to the kitchen and back after a few minutes with a small bag full of cookies in her hand. She handed them to Iruka with a smile. "For you and your friend."

"I couldn't," Iruka said, trying to give them back.

"Please," she insisted. "I made too many anyway."

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san," he said with a smile. He turned to leave before pausing. "Is Tsunade-san home by any chance? There's another car here, but I'm not sure if it's hers or not."

"Oh, no, that's not hers. She won't be back until later. It's an old friend apparently, Kabuto-san. He said he used to baby sit Naruto so I let him in," Yumi explained.

"Kabuto's here?" Naruto asked with surprise.

"He's in the living room. Go on and say hi to him," she told him. Naruto grinned. He hadn't seen the other in years. He had always liked Kabuto. He was nice and usually let him do what he wanted when the silver haired man was looking after him. He went to the living room, leaving Yumi and Iruka in the hallway. She smiled at the brunette.

"Have fun with your friend," she said with a slight bow. He returned the gesture with a bow and smile of his own.

"Thank you again, Uzumaki-san. Sayonara," he said. He closed the door behind him and Yumi went into the kitchen to collect the rest of the cookies she had into a bowl. She then carried the bowl to the living room.

"The cookies are finished if you want any…Naruto…?" she said, trailing off as confusion came over her features when she walked into the room. Kabuto was standing over her son who was now lying on the floor, unconscious and face down. "Wha…?"

Kabuto looked up at her suddenly with a malicious glint in his eye that she hadn't seen before. It was as though he were a completely different person now. Her grip on the bowl tightened as a cold chill rolled down her spine.

"What have you done to my son?" she demanded with a quivering voice. He grinned at her.

"Does it really matter?" he asked. And then she was falling. In the background she could hear the shattering of the bowl as it hit the floor. Her ears rang from the gunshot and pain exploded in her chest as it registered in her mind that she'd just been hit with a bullet. Tears sprang forth in torrents. She could feel the blood leaking from her wound and soaking her clothes, making her weaker with each passing second. And then came the sound of shoes tapping across the floor toward her, echoing in her ears until they were so loud she was certain they were right next to her. Kabuto crouched down next to her.

"Shh, shh, don't cry. It'll be all right. You'll be with Arashi soon. And when I'm done with Naru-chan here, you'll see him too. Then you be one big happy family. Okay?" he whispered in a soft, comforting voice even as a dark smirk was formed on his lips.

"No…don't hurt him, please. K-Kabuto-san…no, you're not…" she choked out brokenly as thing began flashing back to her. After all that time since that accident, she hadn't remembered a thing, other than what she'd been told. But now she was remembering, she understood why this was happening and who this really was. She sobbed harder as he brushed his hand across her forehead, moving some of her hair to the side. She didn't want him taken away from her again.

"P-please…don't…Naruto," she cried. "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…I'm…sorry…so…sorry…"

"Shh, that's right. Pour your heart out with your last breaths. No need to keep it in any more," he breathed. She didn't notice as he picked up her hand, being too focused now on her son unconscious only a foot or two away from her.

"Naruto…" she called out, wishing he could hear her, but knowing he couldn't. "I don't want…to lose you…too…Naruto…"

The silver haired man returned her hand to where it had been, now with a slip of paper in it, folded meticulously into a small square. Yumi's eyes dulled as she muttered a few more things, tears still running down her face, until nothing was left and her lips stilled. She was motionless as the man stood above her looking satisfied. Then he turned to the unconscious blonde with a smirk.

"Time to play Naru-chan."

* * *

**A/N:** Oheemgee, sorry this took a while. Seriously I worked on this a lot one day and then I just kinda stopped for about two weeks for some reason…okay, mostly because I'm lazy and like to procrastinate. But I've finished it. Can't say I really like how it turned out, but it's getting intense. There was actually supposed to be a chapter or two before something like this was supposed to happen, but when I went to write this chapter it said I'm going to be written like this and this is what's going to happen. End of story. So yeah. Unresolved crap and more intenseness. I love it. And I love you all who have read up until this point. It makes me so happy to have such loyal readers and reviewers. New people are always welcomed and my love extends to them as well. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up soon. In the mean time, please help to boost my ego and self-esteem by reviewing. Please and thank you!

**Disclaimer: **Nope, don't own it, so please don't sue. The most you will get out of me will probably be ten cents...


	16. Chapter 16

Sasuke walked into school the next day feeling much as he had the day before. His brother had left after getting a call from Tsunade, asking him to come over. Sasuke knew that the blonde woman was working on the case with his brother, and he also knew that she had left the week before to investigate something at Itachi's request. Since she was calling to see the elder Uchiha, he concluded that she was back.

Unlike most days, when he arrived earlier than the rush of students and the crowds of gushing stalkers otherwise known as his fan club, he had arrived late today. When he'd left the house, Itachi still hadn't come back, but Sasuke decided not to let it bother him. If they had found a solid lead to that monster, then they were getting all the more closer. And that was a good thing. It didn't matter how much time Itachi had to spend away working as long as Snake was caught.

Ignoring everyone else as he weaved through the crowded halls, he made his way to his homeroom. He entered, adamantly refusing to let any flash of blonde hair or tanned skin catch his attention, and walked over to his seat. His eyes, unfortunately, refused to listen to what he told them to do and glanced anyway in the direction the blonde should have been.

No one was there.

It was only Hinata sitting next to two empty seats, one of which belonged to him. He froze for an indiscernible second before continuing on his path, not wanting anyone to notice his reaction to the blonde's absence. He couldn't have people thinking he actually cared.

_No one was there._

Sasuke sat and felt the emptiness that floated beside him in the unoccupied chair. It was uncomfortable. It was unnatural. There was supposed to be someone _there_. Now there was only air. It wasn't supposed to be like that…

But wasn't that what he'd wanted?

Ever since that night he hadn't wanted to see her, no…him. He kept forgetting. But he wanted to forget. Forget that night, forget what he'd seen, and forget that he'd been betrayed, lied to. Most of all, he wanted to forget the pain he'd felt when he realized he'd been lied to because he wasn't supposed to have gotten so friendly with the other that he would be hurt by anything. No one was supposed to get close to him anymore.

So he'd dreaded going to school on Monday because that had meant that he'd have to see him. In classes, he'd had to sit by the blonde simply because that was his assigned seat. He had no choice in the matter. By the time lunch came, he was determined to leave if the blonde decided to sit at that table because he finally had a choice, but when the blonde had finally shown up, with Sai at his side no less (Sasuke hadn't expected anything else), he found that he couldn't move. He couldn't look at the boy, who then looked more like a boy than he had that weekend, that night, but his body wouldn't budge either. He was tense and the droning sound of outside conversations were downplayed as the blonde's voice overpowered them. He didn't want to listen, but he couldn't help it as each word pierced his skull and sunk into his brain without his admittance. Then before he knew it, Sakura and Ino had left, had done what he wanted to do. Kiba went as well after Hinata refused his invitation. And finally he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't want to hear excuses and he didn't want to see that liar's face. He'd made to leave, but Sai had stopped him and had the gall to call him childish.

He wasn't being childish. Sai knew why he was mad. He couldn't possibly think that Sasuke would just forgive everything because of something little like a crush. Crushes were easily forgotten about and pushed aside. Sasuke told himself that, and yet he couldn't stop the feeling and the pain that went with it. When had he gotten so close to that boy? When had his feelings grown to such a level without his noticing?

Sasuke resisted the urge to slap himself. He'd wanted to forget about the blonde, but it seemed that Naruto was the only thing on his mind.

Still, a feeling of uneasiness had settled itself in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what caused it, but he wanted it to leave him alone. He was worrying about enough as it were without his paranoia kicking in.

"Sasuke-kun…Sasuke-kun? Are you alright?" Sakura asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was lunch now. Yesterday he'd made the decision to sit with Sakura, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, and a few other people he'd seen around the school. He was starting to regret that choice.

"Hn, I'm fine," he replied. Seeing that he was now ignoring her, she turned away to chat with Ino some more. His eyes wandered around the cafeteria until they settled on the table he used to sit at. He frowned as he realized he was staring.

"She…he didn't come in today," Sakura said, also looking over at the table.

"Probably got scared. He always got scared easily," Ino scoffed.

"Hn," was the Uchiha's reply. He was watching Sai's face which had a strange expression on it. He seemed worried and anxious about something, though he was hiding it well. Those were emotions he wasn't used to seeing on his normally cheerful friend.

"Stop acting like you're not worried about him," Shikamaru said suddenly from where he was resting his head on the table.

"We aren't," Sakura retorted.

"We're just stating facts," Ino added.

"Sure, sure," Shikamaru replied, waving a dismissive hand at them. He kept his head down.

"He seemed really hurt when you guys left," Choji told them in between bites of his favorite chips.

"Good," Ino said, though with less conviction than she'd intended. Shikamaru sighed then, and lifted his head with an expression saying how troublesome everyone was being and how troublesome it was to put forth the effort he needed to keep his head up.

"Quit lying. You're doing the same thing as he did by fooling yourself into being so mad with him that you'd leave him," Shikamaru said. "Look, Sakura and Ino, you've been friends with him for so many years, and you're willing to throw it away over this? So he's actually a guy. So what? You know that he was always honest with his personality and I'm willing to bet it hasn't changed just because he's announcing that he's a boy now. Naruto is Naruto. He's just the same as when he was Naruko, but with more testosterone instead of estrogen."

"You never know Shika, he could still have a lot of estrogen. He does look pretty girly even though he's trying to look like a guy," Choji said, putting his two-cents in while still happily munching on his chips. Shikamaru simply shrugged at the statement deeming it too much effort to actually answer. Sakura and Ino remained silent. Sasuke had tried to tune out the conversation, but failed miserably.

"Hey Uchiha," Shikamaru said. He put his head back down on the table. Even though he couldn't see the other boy, or hear any acknowledgement to tell him Sasuke was listening, he continued, knowing that the Uchiha was. "You'd better apologize to him when you finally decide to take out that stick up your ass and go see him. Holding someone's feelings is a big responsibility, and withholding your own is just cruel when they are the same. You better get your head on straight soon or you just might lose your chance."

"Hn," was the Uchiha's reply. Sasuke stood up and left suddenly, not wanting to hear more. Lunch was almost over anyway. He could make it through the rest of the day. Then maybe he'd take the scenic route home. The one that went by a certain blonde's house…

* * *

Sasuke slowed as he turned onto the next road. He'd decided to take the scenic route and was now going past Tsunade's house. He still refused to think of the blonde boy, although he had failed miserably throughout the day, unable to get him out of his mind. That coupled with what Shikamaru had said to him had bothered him enough to want to stop and talk to the blonde boy. But there was the fact that Naruto hadn't been in school that day, and Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because he was sick or if he was scared as Ino had said, or even if it was something entirely different.

A few cars were parked in front of the house. He recognized one as Sai's and another as his brother's. He could see Sakura and Ino sitting on the doorstep and wondered briefly at why they were there before he saw the miserable looks on their faces. Had Naruto refused to see them? Would he refuse to see Sasuke?

The younger Uchiha shook his head. He wasn't even going to stop. He was going to keep going until he was home, and then he would forget about Naruto. Before he could complete his plan, he found that he'd been on autopilot and had parked behind Sai's car. He debated whether he should get out and try to talk to Naruto or continue on his way like he'd wanted to before. Reasoning that he was already there, he decided he might as well try to talk to the blonde. He sat there for a few more seconds before finally getting out and heading for the front door.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun!" the two girls cried out in surprise at seeing him.

"Are you…here to see him too?" Sakura asked hesitantly when he was closer. Sasuke nodded. Ino looked down and he missed the sad expression on her face.

"He isn't here," she told him, making him stop.

"Something happened. We don't know what though," Sakura explained. "They wouldn't let us in, but Sai-san is in there. He said he'd find out what happened and then tell us. He drove us here."

"We wanted to apologize, but I guess we were a little late," Ino said. Sakura wrapped an arm around the blonde girl's shoulders and hugged her. Sasuke looked at the girls a little longer, waiting for anything else they could tell him. His mind had immediately told him many bad situations that could be cause for the two girls to remain outside. He rushed in the door, not bothering to knock. He wanted to know what happened and he prayed it wasn't anything bad.

Did run away? Did he kill himself? Or was he locked in a room right now and about to kill himself? Was that why Sai was here? To coax Naruto out before he could hurt himself? Sasuke's imagination went wild with that one. But no, his brother was here. It was something worse. He passed the living room with a glance, but stopped and did a double take. There was a bloodstain on the floor. He drew a sharp breath and his eyes widened at the sight.

"Sasuke?"

He nearly jumped at the sound of his name. He turned to see Sai down the hall heading toward him. He calmed himself quickly and walked toward the other to get away from the sight. It reminded him of the night his family was killed and he'd come home with his brother to the sight of blood dripping off the walls and on the floor of their living room from his father. His mother had been found in the bedroom, and although he hadn't seen it, he'd been told it was a gruesome sight.

"What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come to your senses for at least another week. I know how stubborn you can be," Sai joked.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked seriously, ignoring Sai's faked lightheartedness. The genial smile melted away and in its place was a somber expression.

"Naruto-kun's mother was killed and he's been taken by Snake. All we have to go on is a note he left."

* * *

Naruto groaned as he came back to consciousness. His body felt like lead once again, like it had the night of the party. This time though, it wasn't so heavy that he couldn't move. He lifted himself up on one arm after a fair amount of struggle and then looked around. He was nervous and scared. Where was he?

He was on a couch, a rather large one at that, and in someone's living room. It wasn't his, he knew that much. The room was dark, but he could see how differently everything was set up. A large television set was placed upon a table against the wall opposite of where he was; crackling away on a fuzzy channel that meant it had no reception. In the dim light it gave off he could see a small coffee table in front of him, another smaller couch against the wall to his left, and a large bookshelf against the wall to his right with many knickknacks as well as books on it. Some books were on the floor, strewn about and open to random pages it seemed. Some even had pages torn out and thrown about them. The floor was wood and a large carpet nearly covered it. His eyes traveled along the walls, seeing the outline of picture frames although the glass of each was broken and no picture seemed to be in them. Next he saw thin beams of light seeping through planks of wood that were nailed across the windows on the outside.

His nervous feeling grew to one that was constricting. He felt trapped. Just like…

"Naruto-kun, you're awake!"

The blonde whipped around as fast as he could with his sluggish body to face the newcomer. He sighed as he saw it was only Kabuto. The man stood behind the couch and looked down at him with a smile. The light of the television created a glare across his glasses, preventing Naruto from seeing his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"My whole body feels so heavy. Kabuto-niisan, what happened? I remember seeing you and eating that sweet you gave me. We talked a little and then…I don't know…" Naruto said. He looked up at the silver haired man for answers.

"It's okay. You're awake now though. Maybe you just fainted," the man replied.

"Yeah, maybe…" Naruto said looking down. He looked back up. "Kabuto-niisan, where is this? If I fainted, we'd still be at my house right? Why are we here?"

The man only smiled, ignoring the question.

"Kabuto-niisan…?"

He reached forward, taking a strand of hair in his hand.

"You grew your hair since we last saw each other," he said.

"Okaa-san wouldn't let me cut it," Naruto replied. "Now, where are we?"

"It's so pretty. You look even more like a girl now," the man said, his smile widening. Naruto jerked back suddenly, causing himself to fall off the couch and hit his head on the coffee table. He shut his eyes in pain and clenched his teeth. He opened one eye and looked up at the silver-haired man in the dim light to see only that he was still smiling, widely now, and his hand hadn't moved from where it had been when he was holding his hair.

"Now, now, Naru-chan. If you move too much you'll hurt yourself," he said in a jovial tone that was much deeper than it should have been. Naruto froze, hearing that voice.

"Y-you…you're not…" he said in a trembling voice, not able to complete the sentence for fear it was true. He struggled to stand, using the coffee table as support, but his vision was swimming in and out now.

"Oh damn, you've figured it out already? I was hoping to have a little more fun acting with you Naru-chan," the man said in mock disappointment. Naruto was shaking now. He wanted to run, but he was just barely standing. The man grinned and an unnaturally long tongue came out to wet his lips.

"Oh well. We'll still have plenty of time to play together. Or perhaps I should get you a playmate? Oh, that would be very fun indeed, I do think," he suggested. A satisfied look came over his face as he walked around the couch toward the blonde. Naruto tried to back up, but only managed to fall over again, his legs failing him.

"Looks like the drug's affecting you again. I'll let you have your rest for now. We'll play a little bit later and then I'll get you your playmate. I know last you were with me you were so lonely," the man said. He was right in front of the blonde now. He snatched Naruto's long hair suddenly near the scalp and pulled the boy up so their faces were close together. Naruto could smell the man's disgusting breath. He shut his eyes to get away from that sadistic look in the other's eyes. he couldn't see it still due to the glare from the television on the glasses, but he could feel it; he knew it was there. He felt the breath move from his face to his ear and he shivered in disgust.

"You should be grateful I'm getting you a playmate. I know you'll like him too. He's quite the handsome boy, intelligent too. He's the one you uselessly pine over like a little girl."

The man chuckled and pushed the blonde away from him, ignoring the cry of pain from him as he hit the floor. "Too bad he doesn't like you much."

"No," Naruto whispered from the ground. Tears had started to leak from his eyes. He was terrified for both himself, and now Sasuke.

"Leave him alone, leave him alone. I'm fine by myself. I won't be lonely, I won't be lonely," he begged.

"Aw, I made him cry. Shh, shh, there now. Don't cry. Don't cry," the man cooed, crouching now next to the blonde's head and running his hand through long blonde hair. Naruto repressed the urge to shudder and move away from the invading hand. He forced his tears to stop as well. "There we are, shh. I won't bring him if you don't want him."

"I don't, I don't. I hate him, don't take him, please," Naruto cried.

"That's a good boy. Snake is all you need. I won't take him if you don't want him," the man said with that sadistic smile of his. He leaned down next to the blonde's ear again, and Naruto nearly cringed. "But I can't guarantee that I won't take him if he gets lonely without you."

"He won't, he won't. He hates me," Naruto cried, the tears coming back again. "I won't be lonely. I don't want him here. All I need is Snake."

"That's a good boy," the man cooed, petting his hair again. "Now get some rest and we'll play later."

He stood and left. Naruto stayed where he was on the floor, not having enough energy to drag himself onto the couch again. He curled in on himself, letting the tears fall as he shook.

* * *

_The house, it screams with the souls of the dead_

_Walls drenched in blood that drips without end_

_Littered with bodies long since buried_

_He'll lie with them if you don't hurry_

_His body is lined with scars from the past_

_As new ones open, how long will he last?_

_But for policemen like you, it should be cake_

_To find the hiding place of little old Snake_

_Time's ticking away; you don't want him to die, do you? But take your time. I do so love playing with my toys, you know._

**Snake**

* * *

**A/N:** ahmugud. I'm pretty psyched about this…that sounds wrong with how this story is going. Poor Naru-chan, I'm so sorry! And sorry to everyone else for making you wait this long with that cliffhanger last time and for the shortness of this chappie. I got stuck on one part and then I've been pretty busy with helping my mom clean the house since my whole family's coming to stay with us for Thanksgiving. I wanted to get this out before they all come and give me no time to myself to type for all you lovely readers. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, by the way, for everyone who celebrates it.

Yes, Naruto calls Kabuto Kabuto-niisan. He really was the babysitter when Naru-chan was younger, it wasn't just something Snake said to get to Naru-chan. That's why Naru-chan thinks it's his old babysitter at first. Just wanted to clear that up in case it confused any of you.

Now, I'm going to try to update this as quickly as possible. It might not happen, but I'm going to try. I get points for that right? (dodges sharp objects being thrown) Eh heh…well anyway, thank you for reading and bearing with me to this point, and thank you to all the lovely reviewers who take the time to comment. You all are truly the ones that keep us writers going. So please, review and help keep the chapters coming! Oh, and points for anyone who guesses where Snake and Naru-chan are (the last part was the note left by Snake if you couldn't tell)!


	17. Chapter 17

"Let's go," Sai said from the doorway, startling the two girls sitting on the front step. Both were huddled together and shivering a bit from the cold temperature. They stood and took in the grim look on their friend's face.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, worry lining her voice. She tried to look behind Sai for Sasuke, who had disappeared into the house not long ago, and he was there just behind Sai. They both stepped out and Sasuke closed the door behind them.

"Let's go," Sai said again, walking past the girls with Sasuke and toward his car. The two girls shared a look of confusion and followed after him hurriedly.

"Sai-san, what happ—"

"Are you cold?" Sai asked suddenly, stopping and cutting Sakura's question off. He received two looks of confusion. Sasuke just kept walking to his own car.

"Yeah, but that doesn't—" Ino started.

"Then we'll go get warmed up and after that, I'll tell you," Sai replied, cutting in once again. He resumed his trek to the car with Sakura and Ino not too far behind. They all climbed in and Sai drove off with Sasuke following behind. It was silent the whole time. They stopped at a small café and walked in. Sai nearly laughed when he recognized the place. It was the same café he and Naruto had gone to that one time after he had tricked the blonde into letting him take him out. He nearly turned around and walked right back out, but the hostess had already spotted them and was asking how many of them there were.

"Four," Sasuke grunted when Sai didn't reply to the woman.

"Right this way," she replied, showing them to a booth. They ordered some coffee to warm themselves up. Sai sighed as he felt the expectant gazes of Sakura and Ino, while Sasuke's silent brooding cloud took up the space to his left.

"Well…?" Ino said, prompting him.

"You have to know, I knew about Naruto-kun hiding his gender," Sai started and continued before the girls could say anything about it. They had left before he'd revealed that he had known. But Sasuke already knew.

"The first day I came here I realized it. So we went to Tsunade-san's and they explained it to me. I told him I'd keep it secret until he was ready to tell everyone. I suggested that he start dressing more masculine so you all would get used to the idea of seeing him in boyish clothes."

"What does this have to do with him now? What happened that we couldn't see him?" Sakura asked.

"He was kidnapped by that damn—!" Sasuke started to say before shutting his mouth and clenching his fists. He looked away from them as all eyes settled on him.

"What happened?" Ino said breathlessly. She'd never seen Sasuke loose control of himself, even for such a short amount of time, over someone else. Shikamaru's words echoed in her head and suddenly she really understood what he meant. She wondered briefly in the back of her mind if Sakura had seen it as well. Sai took a deep breath, drawing the attention back to himself.

"Naruto-kun was kidnapped by Snake sometime yesterday after school," Sai told them solemnly.

"Snake? As in…_Snake_?" Sakura asked with disbelief. Sai nodded. Ino gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Tsunade-san said that she came home yesterday and found his mother dead with a note in her hand. Naruto-kun and Snake were already long gone by then," he explained. He was looking down at his hands with his brows furrowed. Sakura and Ino waited for him to tell them anything else while Sasuke continued staring away.

"He… Snake never takes hostages. He finds his victims, plays his games or runs his experiments on them, and then they die before anyone even knows he's gone to kill them. He's only taken a hostage one other time," Sai said finally after a small silence. He could feel Sasuke tense beside him. "When they first told me about why Naruto-kun had been pretending to be a girl for so long, they didn't tell me everything. When I went in today, Tsunade-san told me the rest."

He looked at the two girls sharply.

"What I'm about to tell you, no one else can know. Got it?"

They nodded quickly. They didn't know what Sai was like when he was angry, but they could imagine from the look in his eye that he could be very vicious. He closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again, the sharp look gone. And then he told them. About Naruto's parents, about his mother, about Snake kidnapping him the first time, about what happened then and what happened after. Everything came out and was laid before Naruto's closest friends by a third party person because Naruto wasn't there to do it himself. Sai wasn't even sure if Naruto would be able to tell them everything himself, but Sai knew they deserved some sort of explanation, just like he knew Naruto deserved a welcome crowd to greet him if—no, _when_—he got back. He waited for their reactions patiently, nervous and tense for the blonde and curious for himself to see exactly how they would react. He took a sip of his coffee, still watching the other's expressions as the girls gathered the words they wanted to say in response. He didn't expect anything from Sasuke, but surprisingly, he was the one who spoke first.

"Tch, usuratonkatchi," he mumbled with a frown. Sai glared at his friend.

"Is that all you have to say? An insult?" he demanded, watching Sasuke's nearly impassive face. The Uchiha turned and met his glare unflinchingly and Sai immediately backed down. He could see the struggle going on in his friend's mind through his eyes.

"What do you expect me to say Sai?" Sasuke asked. "You've explained his entire life story to us, basically. Should I just say oh well, that's nice? Or how about I go into a rage about why he never told us all of this? I really don't know, so why don't you tell me Sai. Please." His words were sarcastic but his tone was serious.

"You don't need to insult him," Sai replied softer than before. Sasuke looked down at his untouched drink.

"You know I don't mean it like that," he whispered.

"Yes, yes, I know. Sorry for snapping oh emo one," Sai replied hoping for a reaction from the other than just his brooding silence. He got none.

"I feel horrible now," Sakura said finally. Sasuke clenched his fists tighter. He'd nearly forgotten that the girls were there. He wished that they weren't.

"I do too. To think…Naruto-kun has been through all of that," Ino agreed, hesitating in saying the blonde's name only because she wasn't quite used to it yet.

"He never seemed like he was having trouble with anything, or like he needed help. I guess we just assumed everything was fine and normal for him when they really weren't," Sakura said.

"Naruto-kun's a strong person. You shouldn't feel as though you were neglecting him or anything. He's coped with everything in his own way, but I think he always knew you two were there for him. He wanted you two to be there for him when he told you the truth and say it was okay, but you didn't stay. You just walked out on him, and that hurt him to see the two people he'd known the longest reject him," Sai told them. The two girls lowered their heads as he turned to Sasuke.

"And you hurt him the most you cold bastard. He was hoping you, most of all, would stay with him." Sasuke made no response, but Sai could see his shaking fists. "But, I understand the misguided anger you all must have had. Being lied to by a close friend hurts. Still, now you know everything, and the only reason you do is because I want Naruto-kun to come back to people who accept him. I don't want him to be hurt anymore than he most likely will be."

"How can you be so sure he'll even be alive by the time the police catch Snake?" Ino asked.

"Faith, little lady, faith. I trust in Naruto-kun to be the strong person I know him to be and make it out of there alive. He's gone through it before and survived, so I want to believe that he'll make it this time too," Sai replied.

"I…trust that he'll make it too," Sakura said quietly. She then looked up with determination, mirroring the conviction in her voice. "I want to be there when he gets back. I owe him that much, after everything, to be there for him like I have been ever since we met."

"We both owe him that," Ino agreed with a nod. Sai smiled at them gratefully.

"That's all I ask," he replied. Both girls glanced at the Uchiha, expecting him to say something as well, but he remained silent and brooding. None really knew what exactly was going through the boy's head.

Sasuke was determined though. His thoughts were like Sai's. If Naruto had made it through that kind of experience, and been strong enough to be any semblance of okay and even better, then he believed the blonde could do it again. He refused to think otherwise. He wanted the blonde to come back. He wasn't quite ready to fully forgive him for lying, but Sasuke wanted him back.

That was why he was determined to make Itachi let him help with the case in any way possible.

As they left the café, Sai walked Sasuke to his car. The girls had already settled themselves in his car, but he wanted to give the Uchiha something. Something he knew Sasuke would want.

"I know how you think, so here," he said, handing a slip of paper to Sasuke. "It's a copy of the note. Just make sure your brother knows you _are_ going to help. He knew you might want to so he made a copy of the note. Snake likes riddles, so go home and try to figure it out. Itachi-san also said he was staying at Tsunade's to work with her tonight."

Sasuke stared at the paper, drinking in the words on the paper. A shiver unrelated to the cold temperature crawled up his spine as he read it. He looked up with a glare as Sai's hand ruffled his hair.

"See you in school tomorrow. Feel free to sit with us again," he said simply before turning on his heel and walking away. Sasuke watched him until his friend had started the engine of his car and was pulling out to drive away. With a sigh, he finally opened the door to his own car and got in.

He blocked the haunting words from his mind until he got back to his own house, not wanting to be distracted while driving. He threw his school bag on the floor of his room and forgot about anything he had in it. Falling onto his bed with his legs still dangling off the edge, he held up the slip of paper Sai had given him and stared at it again. He wasn't reading the words. They were already burned into his mind and were starting to shift, and change, and become different things and possible meanings. He stayed like that until hunger pains told him it was long past dinnertime, and even then, he lost his appetite when the words bombarded him again. He had to keep thinking. He needed to figure it out so that he could be useful for once to his brother and to his precious person. He didn't want to waste time. He'd already wasted enough. He didn't want to lose another person he held dear. Snake had already taken enough of them, and Sasuke refused to allow him another.

* * *

Naruto ran as quickly and quietly as he could, but he couldn't help himself from tripping as he felt another painful shock spread through his body. He bit his lip and breathed heavily, trying not to scream from it, because he was strong. He needed to be strong. If he wasn't strong, then he knew it would all be over, and he wasn't about to let everything end as it was. Scrambling to get up, he could hear footsteps on the hardwood flooring below him walking toward the stairs. Naruto ran down the hall, rattling a few doors and then closing one loudly before choosing one back the way he had come from to toss himself into. He closed the door quietly, and then looked around for a place to hide in the mean time.

He paused as his eyes fell upon the bed. It was large with fluffy, decorative pillows and a soft looking comforter strewn about it. Feathers from other ripped and slashed pillows stirred from the sudden flow of new air, and as he moved closer to the bed, he could see white sheets stained a dark brownish red. He could easily guess what had made it.

Naruto clenched his lip in his teeth once again as electricity ran through his body once more. He groped at his neck where a shock collar for animals had been placed, trying fruitlessly to rip it off. He froze as a dark laughter floated into his ears.

"Naru-chan…come out, come out, where ever you are!"

The blonde dropped to the floor immediately and squeezed underneath the bed. The footsteps got louder as they neared the door, moving at a steady pace.

"I know you're up here somewhere."

Naruto held still, not even daring to breathe as the footsteps continued past the door. He began to let out a sigh, but instead he sneezed quietly when dust tickled his nose. He froze as the footsteps halted in their path and then slowly began to retrace their steps back to the door they had just passed. A moment later, the door opened slowly and the footsteps entered. Naruto shifted back further under the bed and then froze again as he heard Snake moving across the room.

"Oh Naru-chan…" the murderer said. The blonde could nearly hear the creepy smile that went with his name and shivered. He held his breath as Snake walked through the room, along the wall, and looked into every possible hiding spot. He could just barely see the psychotic man's shoes from under the long bed skirt, but watched the man's movements as best he could. Eventually, after he'd circled the room, Snake approached the bed, slowly, deliberately. Naruto shifted as quietly as he could to the side opposite of his tormentor as Snake got closer and closer, until he was right next to the bed.

"Here you are!"

The bed skirt was yanked up and Snake looked underneath to find nothing but dust. He frowned and got back up, looking around. He hummed and casually pressed a button on the small remote he had in his hand as he moved to exit the room. Loud thumping could be heard followed by a crash at the bottom of the stairs.

Naruto grimaced and gripped the back of his head with one hand where he was beginning to bleed. It wasn't deep, but it hurt like hell and head wounds always bled a lot anyway. After fleeing from the room while Snake had been distracted, he had made for the stairs. He'd been about to step down on the first one when the shock collar had gone off again; surprising him and making him falter. He fell down the stairs and crashed into a table near the bottom that had a vase with dead flowers in stagnant water on it. The table toppled over and the vase smashed against the floor, spilling its cool liquid and the dried plants on the floor. Pain flared in his left arm, stemming from his shoulder. When he tried to move it, it didn't respond and only fanned the flame of his pain. It was dislocated.

He moaned quietly and went to get himself up because he knew he couldn't stay there for long or Snake would get him, but it was too late. Snake was there, right in front of him, with that sadistic grin set on his lips and a hand on his shoulder squeezing and hurting him even more. Naruto cried out as Snake squeezed hard and dug his nails into the blonde's skin. Naruto looked out through pain glazed eyes, his hatred for the man leaking into the gaze. The man only continued his grin.

"Oh Naruto," he said wistfully. Naruto shivered in disgust hearing his name roll off the other's tongue in such a familiar way. "I've missed this. You were fun always so fun to play with. I'm glad we've been brought together again."

A burnt hand came up to caress his cheek and Naruto jerked away, a little surprised. Then he remembered. When he'd seen 'Kabuto' at first and still believed it had been his old babysitter, he'd been wearing gloves. The blonde had assumed it had been because of the cold weather, but he realized now that it was to hide scarred hands. It made him wonder how he managed to cover the rest of his burnt body, and then led him to think of how he could mistake the madman Snake for Kabuto. Although Kabuto was pale there had been healthy color in his skin, while Snake, if he remembered correctly from the first time the man had taken him, had had a papery white pallor that looked as though he had never once walked out of the shadows and dark rooms he liked to lurk within. Snake had also had long black hair, although Naruto could understand that it would have been burnt off, but Kabuto's hair had been silver.

As he looked at Snake now, he could still see Kabuto's pale face, stretched and malformed with eerie, molten yellow eyes that were misplaced and not hidden behind glasses this time, but instead of the silvery hair he'd seen before, black hair now was. It had only been a wig. But if the hair had only been a wig, it made him wonder what his face was, because surely Snake's face had been burnt as well.

"I still look like Kabuto to you, don't I?" Snake asked, weaving disfigured fingers through blonde hair. The hand on his hurt shoulder made Naruto stay still instead of pulling out of the man's reach.

"But you know I'm not him. You know I'm not him because you've seen me before, and even though I'm wearing his face, I am the only one who can do this to you," the man said. Naruto heard two clicks before a shock stronger than all the others before assaulted him. He cried out and tried to wrench himself from the man's grip on his shoulder. It was no use, and he remained where he was, writhing.

"I am the only one who can cause you pain like this because ever since then you've been mine and no one else's. Kabuto did try to protect you when I went to him, but he was weak. That is why I killed him so easily right after he told me where to find you when I threatened his pathetic family. Yes, I killed him. Right up there, in that room you were hiding in before. And his family was easy picking as well."

Naruto felt sick. He'd been staring at Kabuto's blood. Kabuto had been killed on that bed. Nothing had looked out of place, but Naruto was sure Kabuto had struggled; otherwise there wouldn't have been so many ripped pillows on the bed.

"So how…why do you—?" Naruto started to ask.

"Ah yes, why do I look like him? Why is my face not scarred and burnt to a crisp like the rest of me was? It's a very simple thing to answer," Snake replied. A wild look crawled into the man's eyes and Naruto was suddenly even more afraid than he had been before. "It is because, little Naru-chan, I am _wearing_ his face. It's his flesh that I skinned from his skull and made into a mask to cover my own distorted features, and his scalp that I wore to hide my hair. But since you wish to see my face as it was, and not your beloved Kabuto-niisan's while I torture you, I suppose I could indulge you."

Keeping his hand still firmly on the blonde's shoulder, Snake took his hand from the boy's long hair and reached up to his face. He gripped the edge of the skin at the base of his neck and pulled up, revealing his true face. It was charred black in some places, while some pieces of his pale white skin had somehow managed to be left unscathed. Raw pink muscle showed or rippled beneath the thin layer of skin that had healed over it. Snake gave him a toothy grin with chapped and cracked lips that had a chunk missing at the edge of his mouth to show off his pink gums in the dim light of the house.

"You see this? This is your mark on me. This is all because of you, Naruto." Snake moved closer, looking into the blonde's eyes with a wild intensity that he couldn't look away from. "And now I get to leave more of my marks on you."

He laughed as he released Naruto's shoulder in favor of grasping the blonde's hair. He dragged the younger through the hall by the hair and into the kitchen, ignoring the struggles of his captive. He tossed the remote for the collar onto the counter as he entered and took out a thin rope from a cabinet. He then tied Naruto's limbs to each of the legs of the table as he spread the blonde across it. The table rocked a little as Naruto pulled and moved about, trying to loosen his restraints, but to no avail.

"Don't bother trying to get loose. This is going to happen sooner or later, so why not get it over with?" Snake said nonchalantly as his fingers traced over the handles of knifes in the drawer he'd pulled open.

"Fucking do it then," Naruto said with an icy voice. He no longer struggled and his eyes had gone hard. Snake pulled out the knife he liked best, long, thin, and razor sharp, before turning to face the limp blonde with a smirk.

"I see, so my other playmate has come out to see me. Have you missed me, lovely?" he asked.

"Go to hell you fucking psychopath," Kyuubi responded with a glare at the man. Snake merely smiled.

"That much? Oh dear, you must understand that I missed you terribly as well. I just couldn't _wait_ until I could get my hands on you again and repay you for everything you've given me. Especially you, though. Naru-chan is quite entertaining, I must say, but you…you are far more amusing. I always enjoyed seeing how far I could go with you until you let out a scream. You always lasted much longer, you see, and so I will very much enjoy this now," Snake told the blonde. He moved to Naruto's left side and grinned down at him, looking as though he really was thoroughly enjoying himself. His gaze shifted to the knife in his hand as he brought it up and examined it again, running a finger along one sleek, metallic side.

"Now…where should I mark you? Ah yes, I do think your stomach will be a lovely place for this mark."

And with that, Naruto's shirt was cut off and then the knife touched coldly upon his warm skin, chilling him slightly before it was pressed into his flesh and blood spilled forth, marking the beginning of a new scar that would stay with him for years to come.

* * *

Days had passed, only a few, but they had dragged on so long that Sasuke felt as though they were years, and as another passed he felt that he was even further from seeing Naruto again. Sasuke had told his brother that he was going to help whether he was allowed to or not, and Itachi had simply shrugged at him, too busy to even bother with arguing. And so, he was allowed access to files regarding Snake's investigation. He'd taken the time in between going to school, only because Itachi was forcing him to if he was to be helping with the investigation, and any homework that had been given, to read over each of the victim's cases (trying not to get hung up on Naruto's specifically), along with any observation Itachi had made about behavior and connections. Itachi's notes on Tsunade's findings were what he was reading now.

He glanced up at his older brother, wondering what he was thinking, before returning to the notes. Just as he finished, a mug of tea was placed before him and Itachi sat beside him.

"Any thoughts now that you've read through everything?" his brother asked before sipping on his own mug that was filled with bitter coffee.

"Well, there's obviously some connection between Snake and Kabuto. Either Kabuto is working with Snake or is working under him because of threat," Sasuke replied.

"Yes, we have come to this conclusion as well. At first, we decided to believe that Kabuto is working with Snake, but it was an anomaly in Snake's behavior. He has always worked alone. From all the murders we've amassed to be his, it looked as though he didn't look at anyone else as if they were really a human being. His victims, although not at first, we're almost always killed inhumanely as his experiments. Therefore he wouldn't work _with_ someone. His disregard for life would have made him kill his partner long ago," Itachi explained.

"So then he's working with Snake because of a threat and will probably either be killed soon, or is already dead," Sasuke concluded.

"Exactly," his brother agreed.

"Have you gotten any farther with the note?" the younger asked. Itachi shook his head.

"All we know is that he has taken Naruto-kun to a house somewhere to torture him until we find his hiding place. There doesn't seem to be a time limit set by him either, other than Naruto-kun's own will to live. He wants us to find him, and he knows that taking a hostage close to us is more than enough incentive to make us work ten times as hard at doing it," he replied.

"_The house, it screams with the souls of the dead_…" Sasuke mumbled, repeating the note's lines as he thought about them. He looked up at his brother. "Have you considered _where_ he could be, at all?"

"We have. Although not all of his victims were killed in a house, we have people checking all of the houses that were murder sites, since the first two lines of Snake's note implies that he is at the site of one of his murders. Nothing has turned up. Either a family is already living in the house, or there is no trace of anyone throughout," Itachi replied.

"Right," Sasuke said with a sigh. Itachi downed the rest of his coffee before standing and putting his mug away. He ran a hand through his hair with a weary look.

"I need to go to Tsunade-san's again. She wanted to look for anything we might have missed the first time, and asked me to help her. Deidara might be over later. Just tell him where I've gone and that I'll be back late tonight," he told his little brother. Sasuke nodded and stood from his seat at the table. He moved to leave the room, but paused as he heard his name.

"Sasuke," Itachi said. The younger turned to look at his brother and saw Itachi wave him over. Obeying, he approached his brother and ended up being poked in the middle of his forehead. He glared at his brother, but it softened at his next words. "Don't worry so much, foolish little brother. We'll find him soon."

Sasuke nodded again and then left the room, rubbing his forehead. He may have been used to his brother poking his forehead from his younger years, but it hurt. Still, it was a bit of a comforting gesture, although it did nothing to stop him from worrying. He knew Itachi was doing everything he could, but it wasn't enough for Sasuke. He wanted to see Naruto.

* * *

Of _course_, it was so _obvious_! How could he have taken so much time to figure out that Naruto and Snake were _there_? Sasuke resisted the urge to hit himself for being so utterly idiotic, even though he knew no one was there to witness his self-abuse. He was excited. He knew where they were. He'd figured it out.

He dialed Itachi's cell number as quickly as he could, but scowled as he received his brother's voicemail immediately. It was either off or dead, and since Itachi rarely turned his cell off, Sasuke assumed its battery had run out without his brother's notice. Sasuke paced his kitchen rapidly, trying to think what he should do. And then he stopped. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to go make sure that they were where he guessed them to be. He was going to the old Uchiha manor.

He didn't want to sit around and wait until his brother came home to tell him, and he didn't want to go to Tsunade's and tell him. Itachi would never let Sasuke go with him to check it out. Deidara still hadn't come as Itachi had said he might, so he had time and the chance to go, but he would have to hurry in case Deidara came soon.

Immediately, he dashed to Itachi's study, where he kept any files he brought home from work. He opened the left drawer of the desk and sifted through the papers that occupied it to find Itachi's spare gun at the bottom as well as a new magazine of bullets for it. His father had taken him to a shooting range a few times before he had been murdered, so he knew how to load and shoot a gun. Sasuke wasn't sure he'd be able to use it to kill, but he knew he'd do anything to get Naruto away from the psychopath. Besides, it was for his own protection as well.

"Oh Sasu-chan!" Loud knocking on the door was heard that could only have been caused by one person. Sai.

"I'm coming in!" Sai called. Not long after, the front door could be heard opening and closing, followed by footsteps. Hurriedly Sasuke shoved the drawer closed and put the gun in the back of his pants, covering it with his shirt, and the magazine in his pocket before he calmly walked from Itachi's study. He saw Sai and raised an eyebrow at him. The boy wore pants, which was rare for him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"My Sasuke senses were tingling so I came a calling," Sai replied. "In sensible clothing too, I might add."

"…Right," Sasuke said with a sigh. Knowing that Sai would want to go anyway because he could see how anxious the other was about Naruto, Sasuke headed for the front door. Sai followed along.

"We going out?" Sai asked, putting his shoes back on as Sasuke put on his. The younger Uchiha simply nodded before moving to write a note, telling his brother where he was going and why. Then they were out the door and in Sai's car. Sasuke directed him onto the highway that would take them where he wanted to go, and Sai followed his instructions without question, having noticed the dangerous air floating around his friend. Finally he wasn't able to contain himself any longer.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going or not?" Sai asked. Sasuke reached behind him and pulled out the gun.

"To my old house," he replied, ignoring how his friend nearly swerved into the car next to them at the sight of the firearm.

"Damn it Sasuke, I was right to come over this time," Sai said, shaking his head. "What are you gonna do with that gun?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied as he examined the gun. He pulled out the magazine he'd taken with him and replaced it with the empty one in the gun. Then he looked at his friend with a determined gaze. "All I know is that I'm tired of waiting or sitting on the sidelines watching everyone be useful except for me. I know where Snake is, and I want Naruto safe Sai. Even if it means I have to use this."

Sai glanced at his friend and then shook his head, but he kept driving.

"So then you're certain that Naruto-kun is there?" he asked quietly.

"Completely," Sasuke replied confidently. Sai sighed wearily and glanced at his friend once more.

"You're an idiot and possibly even more impulsive than Naruto-kun. But I guess that's due to his influence on you. No matter what I say to dissuade you from doing this, I know you won't listen because of your damn stubbornness and pride, so…give me the gun, Sasuke," he said, holding his hand out in expectation.

"Why?" Sasuke said, eyeing his friend with suspicion. Sai threw a frustrated look at the younger Uchiha.

"We both know I'm a better shot than you so give me the damn thing. You _know_ I'm not going to let you go in there alone, right?" Sai explained, hand still out, before muttering, "Probably haven't even gone to a shooting range for a year now."

"And you have?" Sasuke relented. He handed over the gun to his friend who put it in the side pocket of his door.

"Actually yes I have. Most recent was yesterday because I was frustrated about everything, so there. The people I'm stuck with now were kinda surprised at first, but the stupid husband encourages it. I think it's because of all the skirts," Sai replied.

He turned off the highway and continued on to Sasuke's house, knowing the way now that he knew where he was going. They were silent the rest of the way. The closer they got to their destination, the more the tension and apprehension grew. Finally the large house came into view and Sai passed it. Sasuke who had been getting ready to throw himself from the car turned with an expectant face.

"If we stopped right in front, don't you think that Snake would notice and be ready for us? Then we wouldn't stand any chance against him in getting Naruto-kun out of there. All I'm going to do is park a block or two away, and then we can run over there and get Naruto-kun out, hopefully without Snake's notice," Sai explained. This seemed to satiate Sasuke for the moment, but it didn't stop the impatient bobbing of his knee.

As soon as they were parked, Sasuke and Sai were out of the car and darting through the yards they used to pass by coming back from Sai's house when they used to live there. They didn't stop for nostalgic thoughts though, but kept on to their destination. Before they entered the yard of the old Uchiha compound, both took a second to examine how exactly, they were going to get in. It was dark out since it was rather late at night, but they could make things out by the light of the street lamp.

Most of the windows were boarded up (Sasuke wondered when that had happened), so they couldn't get in through those. Sasuke then spotted the window in the ground that led to the basement of the house. It was small, but large enough to allow a thin teenaged boy to pass through. It wasn't boarded up, so it was their best bet to get in unnoticed. Sasuke dashed over first, too impatient to really tell Sai where he was going. He peered in and, after seeing nothing but a few boxes and darkness, lifted the window and slipped in. It wasn't long before Sai had slipped in as well. It was pitch black as the two felt their way through the basement's maze of boxes and other things neither wanted to know of, to get to the stairs. They froze as they heard footsteps above them making a slow path to the back of the house. Both assumed that they belonged to Snake and waited to see where the man was going. Soon enough, they heard a door open and close.

"He just went out the back door," Sasuke told Sai, who nodded even though he knew the other wouldn't see it.

"Alright, let's hurry," Sai replied. They found the stairs and went up them as quietly as possible, not wanting to take any chances that the psychopath could hear them. When they got to the top, they opened the door carefully and crept out, looking about. Seeing the coast was clear, both immediately started searching the dimly lit rooms on the first floor as quickly as possible. They found nothing and Sasuke was growing more impatient each second he found no trace of the blonde. Every room was clean and smelled of bleach, making them think that it had been used to clean the blood that had been spilled there.

"He's not down here," Sasuke whispered harshly, still searching fruitlessly through the last room on the first floor.

"Then let's check upstairs. Come on," Sai replied in a hushed voice.

Both headed for the stairs to the second floor and climbed up them, keeping as quiet as they had been. They paused as they heard water start. Sharing a look, they went to the bathroom and tried the door. It was locked. The water immediately stopped when the doorknob had started to move. They knew he was scared. They knew that Naruto thought they were Snake.

"Naruto-kun," Sai said softly, hoping to sooth the other. "It's okay. Sasuke and I came to get you out."

"Liar. Snake I know you like games but you don't need to torture him like this. Don't give him false hope," came a rough voice from the other side of the door. The two looked at each other in confusion.

"Naruto-kun? Is someone else in there with you? If there is, we'll get you both out, but we need to hurry. Snake could come back any moment," Sai said.

"Stop it Snake. You know I'm him. And I'm not coming out unless you force me out, which I know you'll have no qualms about," the voice said with malice. The water turned on again, and they could hear splashing.

"Dobe," Sasuke said finally, frustrated that Naruto wasn't responding to their offered help like he was supposed to. "Stop being an idiot and let us help you. We don't have time to argue."

"So you're Uchiha then?" the voice asked quietly, more subdued and sounding tired. Both boys waited anxiously for what would happen next. Finally the water shut off and they heard the click of a lock before the door opened to reveal a messy looking boy with short, choppy blonde hair.

"You're a bastard, but thanks for coming to the brat's aid," he said. Before the other two could ask anything, he continued. "I'm Kyuubi, Naruto's other personality created the first time he was in a situation like this. Now how the hell did you get in here?"

"Yes, how _did_ you get in here? I would be delighted to know."

All eyes widened as they landed on the one man they were hoping to avoid. Snake grinned down at them.

"Oh this is just _splendid_. Thank you so much for coming to me, my dear little Sasuke-kun. Naru-chan said he didn't want to see you when I asked if he wanted a playmate, but I guess you missed him too much, as I thought you would, and just _had_ to come running. And you even brought another friend with you, how _thoughtful_."

Sasuke glared hatefully at the man, ignoring the shaking of his body with being in the presence of his family's murderer. He ripped the gun Sai had been holding from his hands, undid the safety, and pointed it at Snake. The man's grin dropped into a frown.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun. That's no way to treat an adult. Children should listen to those older than them, and I'm telling you to put that thing away. Children are too impulsive and never know what to do with those things, so they should just leave those toys for the adults to play with. Adults like your brother. Where _is_ the charming man now? I'd have thought he would come along on your little rescue mission," said the psychopath.

"Don't call me a child, you murderer!" Sasuke yelled at the man, keeping the gun pointed at the man. Snake ignored it and took a step forward, followed by another, and another. Sasuke backed up with each step the man took, forcing the others back as well, further from the staircase and their escape route.

"I _see_. Sasuke-kun _is_ an impulsive little child, isn't he? Going all alone to rescue his precious person. Oh, with the exception of his friend, of course. I wonder when Itachi will figure you are all here? My guess is," the man said, his grin growing with every word, "when you're all dead and buried in the ground."

With that, the man lunged at Sasuke, who fired the gun and managed to hit Snake's shoulder before he was knocked to the ground. The gun flew from his hand in his surprise at the attack and slid across the floor, away from them all. Snake took no notice of the pain in his shoulder and merely grinned wildly down at his captive as blood trickled from his wound and he held Sasuke beneath him, pinned to the floor.

"Thank you for the present, dear Sasuke-kun. I'll put it to good use when your brother comes looking for you," he said. He then punched the boy's stomach so hard that Sasuke blacked out as he tried to regain his breath. Suddenly two people attacked him, but he easily threw them off. He grabbed the remote from his pocket as the two started to get back up, and he quickly pressed and held the button. The blonde cried out, clutching at his neck, and dropped to the floor again. Sai, seeing that Naruto was in pain, glared at Snake and ran at the man again. Snake went to strike him down, but Sai somehow managed to dodge it and latched on to the arm that held the remote. He grasped at the remote, trying to rip it from Snake's grasp, but the murderer was already trying to pull him off. So Sai bit down on his arm, surprising the man into dropping the remote. Sai then stomped on the remote to break it as he let go of the man's arm. Seeing the remote broken, Snake howled and moved to kill the boy, but was knocked to the side. Naruto had punched him in the ear with all his might.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," the blonde said, pulling at Sai. Both ran for Sasuke, intending to bring him with them, but Naruto fell to the ground as Snake's hand grabbed his ankle. Sai turned around as the blonde tried to kick Snake's hand off uselessly, and he kicked the man's arm as hard as he could. Snake let go as a sickening crack was heard and Naruto scrambled up. They picked up Sasuke, put him on Sai's back, and rushed down the stairs. Sai made for the front door, but Naruto stopped him.

"I don't know what he did to it, but the front door won't budge. We have to find another way," he said before wincing and grabbing his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Sai asked.

"Nothing. We need to get out of here first," the blonde replied. He could handle the pain, as long as they got out of there.

"…Alright. We came in through the basement, but—the back door. We can get out there," Sai said, already heading to it. Naruto followed after. They could already hear Snake coming after them.

"Come back," he called out, "We haven't finished playing yet, Naru-chan, and you only just got new playmates."

Just as they saw the door, Sasuke came to. He looked around groggily and wondered why he was being jostled about before he remembered. Thinking that Snake was carrying him, he struggled and fell as he hit his carrier's head.

"Damn it Sasuke," Sai said, turning around to glare at him before his eyes widened as they looked past his friend. Sasuke froze as he saw color drain from his friend's face, and didn't get to feel the rush of relief that the one carrying him hadn't been Snake. He turned his head slowly to see Snake standing in the doorway with that psychotic grin on his lips and the wild look in his eyes. An abnormally long tongue slipped out to wet his lips as he stared them down.

"My turn," Snake said, bringing his good arm up to hold out the gun Sasuke had dropped. He pointed it at Sasuke and casually pulled the trigger, shooting the boy in the stomach. Sasuke's eyes widened as pain exploded in his body and he fell to the side.

His vision went blurry and every sound that reached his ears seemed far away, like someone had stuffed cotton into them. All he knew was the pain in his stomach and the feeling that something in him was slipping away, even as he wanted to grasp it and bring it back. There were lots of shouts, but he couldn't make out the words. He knew Sai was beside him at first, telling him to stay with them, before he left. There was a loud slamming noise, but he couldn't tell what it was. And then there were more voices and loud bangs that he guessed were gunshots, but he couldn't concentrate. Then suddenly the shots stopped and in his blurry vision he could see one yellow and two black shapes. He knew they were trying to tell him something, but he was just so tired. He really couldn't concentrate. So he went to sleep, but he knew he wanted to wake up with those shapes there next to him because they were familiar and gave him a warm feeling that he didn't want to go away since it overshadowed the pain he felt. Besides, he still needed to tell that yellow one something, and he didn't want to put it off any longer.

* * *

**A/N:** Eh heh…sorry for making you wait so long again…? (dodges deadly objects) Wah! I'm sorry! Really, I am! This was supposed to come out, at the latest, by Christmas, but you can see how well that tuned out. Eh heh, yeah. So really, I am very, very, very, very, very, very, very, veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrryyyy sorry for making you all wait so long. But! The good news is that I will hopefully have the next chappie out soon since I made you all wait so very long for this. Unfortunately we are pretty much at the end, so I'm sure you're all sad this is all coming to an end. At least you won't have to deal with me and my super late updates anymore. Until I start another story that you may like, that is. But for now, I must congratulate all the people who guessed correctly last chappie at where Snake took Naru. So, congrats to Tenichi Shigo, LeiseFlustern, PurpleCranberi, Ariel, Boejangles, and LoveNeverWantedMe for guessing correctly! Beany09 had a good guess (Beany guessed Naru's old house), but sadly it wasn't right. It was a good idea though. Also, yes I did make up the note in the last chapter on my own. I actually made it shortly after the idea for this story first popped into my head. Thank you for all the wonderful compliments on it, I'm glad you guys didn't think it was crap like my poems usually turn out to be.

Um...side comments. Yeah. I was just going through this again because I like to see if I can find all my mistakes, and I noticed something. I used emphasis with Snake a lot, but it needed to be there. Snake's just a creeper I guess...

And now, I shall say my last words. Thank you everyone for following me on this story's journey of late updates and fun-ness, and thank you ever so much to everyone who has reviewed on any chapter. You are all amazing and you have my love for keeping this train rolling. I hope you all enjoy the last chapter (or chapters, I'm not really sure as of right now. Maybe I'll just do one more and then an epilogue…nah, I'm crap at epilogues) whenever it may come out, and please review, for reviews make me happy and will lessen my sadness at the ending of my wonderful story. Thanks once again!

**Disclaimer:** nope, don't own. Jeez, you'd think you'd learn by now.

(Happy belated holidays and Happy early New Year, in case I don't get the next one out soon enough.)


	18. Chapter 18

Itachi was staring blankly ahead at his little brother in a hospital bed when Deidara arrived, worried expression plastered on his face. He relaxed a little when he saw that Sasuke was indeed breathing and not in a body bag or cold and motionless. When he looked at his boyfriend, he could see the barest hint of red in the man's eyes that no one but Deidara would have known to look for. He could see the slight sag in Itachi's normally erect posture and the slight disarray of his hair, although the last could have been from his fight with Snake. He had heard from Tsunade, who he passed in the hall on his way to Sasuke's room when she'd gone to get coffee, the bare minimum of what had happened.

Deidara remembered having arrived at the Uchiha residence just as Sasuke had left with Sai. Thinking that the two merely wanted to go somewhere to have a little fun, because they were two regular teenaged boys and they needed a little fun once in a while, the blonde didn't think much of it at the time. Instead he walked up to the house, intending to enter, but was stopped by a locked door. Still not thinking much of it, Deidara had shrugged and pilfered the spare key hidden by the door and used it to open the front door.

"Itachi!" he'd called out as he entered. When he received no answer, he finally noticed just _how dark_ the house really was. He'd frowned and turned on the hall light, therein finding the note Sasuke had left. He quickly picked it up and read it. The paper had fluttered to the floor as Deidara realized what the words on it meant. Immediately he'd whipped out his cell phone and dialed Itachi's number, but instead of his beloved's voice greeting him, there was the annoying voicemail telling him to leave a message. Itachi hadn't told him that he was going anywhere, and if he couldn't reach Itachi on his cell, then he would have to figure out where he'd gone.

He dialed the police offices first, asking for Itachi. He was told the older Uchiha had been called by Tsunade earlier to help her in re-evaluating where Yumi had been murdered, just in case they had missed any vital clues. Deidara had thanked the person on the other end and quickly dialed Tsunade's number. She picked up after only three rings with an anxious, "Yes?"

She had been eager for any information regarding Snake or Naruto. He knew that Itachi would tell her, so he asked her to pass the phone to Itachi, which she did quickly when she heard the breathlessness in his voice.

"Deidara," Itachi had said in his ever calm and collected voice that the blonde had no patience for at that moment. So he blurted everything out that he had read in Sasuke's note. All Itachi had said when Deidara was done explaining was a soft, "Shit," and then he asked the blonde to call the police to tell them to send two cars and an ambulance to his old address before he hung up. Deidara had done as he was told and then waited anxiously for Itachi to call him and tell him what had happened. When his lover had finally called him, it was only to ask him to come to the hospital in the next town over and without any explanation.

Now, as he saw Sasuke lying there, he wanted nothing more than explanations, but held back with the sight of Itachi's silent, withheld worry. So instead, Deidara merely pulled a chair next to Itachi, sat down, and held his lover with the tender care one would give to something made of glass. But he knew Itachi was stronger than glass. He wasn't fragile. He was sturdy and could support himself and his little brother, _had_ supported himself and his little brother. So Deidara struck out the idea that Itachi was fragile from his mind and squeezed the other to him tightly with all his heart, and then he cried. He cried because he was glad that Sasuke was safe even though he didn't know exactly what had happened. He cried because he knew Sasuke had just survived being _shot_. He cried because _Itachi_ was safe after his encounter with Snake, even though he knew Itachi wasn't one to go down easily. But most importantly, he cried because he knew that Itachi wouldn't. Because Itachi was strong, and tears only rusted the metal armor he had gathered over the years to become the man he was at that moment. So Deidara cried and Itachi held his lover back as his lover held him, while thanking whatever gods were out there that his foolish little brother was still alive and that he had a wonderful man who loved him and stood by him to cry in his stead.

* * *

Sasuke had woken up early the next morning to a dark hospital room. His body felt heavy with sleep and even as he blinked slowly, he felt the urge to just go back to sleep. His mind was too muddled to be bothered with the fact that he had almost died and simply urged him back to sleep. Of course, he had wanted to talk to that yellow shape he'd seen before he went to sleep last, but it was nowhere in sight. The only one he saw was his brother, whom he smiled at when he saw the elder asleep, uncomfortably on the chair. But he disregarded his brother. He wanted the yellow one, not the black one. So he allowed his eyelids to droop once again and black oblivion to take him with the knowledge that he _would_ wake up, when before there had been uncertainty.

The next time he woke up a nurse was in the room. She had smiled and blushed at him before quickly checking his vitals and running out. Sasuke just stayed still, limp. He didn't have the energy to get up to follow her and ask her where Naruto was, because he knew that Naruto had to be at the hospital too. Instead he decided to wait until someone came and he could ask them. So he just lay there waiting until he got bored at looking around an empty room and closed his eyes, only meaning to rest them. He fell asleep again.

The final time he woke up was to voices. The voices of Tsunade, his brother, Sai, and Deidara. He kept his eyes closed, deciding to listen a little.

"Is he supposed to sleep this long?" Deidara asked, ever worried over little things.

"He's lost a lot of blood. He needs sleep to regain his energy. Besides, the nurses said he woke up once when Itachi-san had gone home to change," Tsunade offered.

"They didn't tell me until I had come back," Itachi said flatly.

"Sasukeeee," Sai whined. Sasuke could feel Sai's finger poking his cheek.

"Well that's because your stupid cell phone is dead," Deidara scolded.

Sasuke cracked open an eye to glare at his annoying friend who only grinned widely at him, relief flooding his eyes.

"If you had charged it, maybe you would have gotten the call that Sasuke was awake," Deidara continued.

Sasuke smiled reassuringly up at his friend.

"It still would have been too late. They told me that he just went back to sleep a little while later anyway," Itachi explained.

Sai stuck his tongue out at the other and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Still—" Deidara started.

"Sasuke's up," Sai finally said in a nonchalant voice.

Immediately everyone was around him. Deidara had flown to him and hugged the young Uchiha, being careful not to disturb his wound, while Itachi stood off to the side with the same look of relief in his eyes as Sai had had while a tiny smile graced his lips that was reserved only for the people closest to him. Tsunade stood behind them with a smile also on her face and Sai stayed where he was, sitting on the bed beside Sasuke. Deidara was asking how he felt and if he was still tired and if he wanted anything to eat, but Sasuke shook the questions off as he attempted to sit up. Tsunade immediately went into nurse mode, shoving Deidara off of the younger Uchiha to help him sit up and fluff his pillow up behind him.

"You shouldn't move too much. We don't want you to open up your stitches do we?" she told him in a firm yet gentle voice. He nodded, being much more gracious about receiving help than his pride would normally allow him to be. He had more pressing matters.

"Uzumaki…is he okay? Where is he?" he asked. Itachi looked to Tsunade who glanced back at him, and Sasuke stared expectantly at the woman. She sighed and walked around his bed to a curtain that he hadn't noticed before. She pulled it aside and there, asleep in another bed, was Naruto. Sasuke could see a thin sheen of sweat of the blonde's forehead in the glow of the late afternoon sun and the disturbed look he had in his sleep.

"He collapsed when we got here. Snake cut up his stomach, from the look of it days ago, and it's gotten infected. They're giving him antibiotics to help him fight it, but he has a high fever right now," Tsunade explained. She gave him a reassuring smile when she saw a troubled look cross his face. "You shouldn't worry though. This brat's got an amazing immune system so he should be up and about as soon as his fever breaks."

She started to close the curtain again.

"Could you—?" Sasuke started to ask, but stopped himself as he remembered who all were in the room. Tsunade just smiled knowingly and left the curtain where it was, allowing him to look over and see the blonde whenever he wanted. He couldn't really believe that they had all made it out alive, but somehow it had happened. He was just glad the blonde was finally safe even if he wasn't well.

"How are you feeling otouto?" Itachi asked, taking back Sasuke's attention. Realizing he'd never really answered the question when being bombarded with Deidara's queries, he answered.

"Just a little tired," he replied honestly, and then winced as he shifted his weight a little and finally really noticing the throbbing in his stomach. "And it hurts a little."

"It should. You were shot through the stomach after all," Itachi said with a nod before sharpening his gaze. Sasuke looked away from his brother, knowing that the other was mad at him. Of course he'd be mad. Sasuke had gone after Snake knowing that Itachi would have _never_ let him.

"Sasuke, look at me," Itachi said in the curt, scolding tone he'd acquired over the years when he had needed to discipline Sasuke while their parents were away. Reluctantly the younger did as he was told and turned his head to his brother. He was surprised at the contrast between his sharp face and softened eyes.

"I could say you shouldn't have done that. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be hurt right now. I could also say you were an idiot for not alerting either myself, Tsunade, or the police about what you figured out," Itachi started.

"In his defense, he probably called you, but you didn't get it because—" Sai began to point out as Sasuke stayed silent.

"Yes, I am aware. My phone wasn't on. But, you still should have been able to contact either Tsunade or the police," Itachi continued. And then his sharp look broke down and he was left looking weary from the toll the entire investigation had taken on him. "But none of that matters anymore because you're safe, you're still alive, and we managed to get Snake in the middle of it all. The only thing I ask is that you never do something like that again."

"I won't," Sasuke agreed and then pointed to Sai. "Blame my craziness on this one. He must have rubbed off on me somehow."

"Hey! I was just defending you, and that's how you treat me? I see how it is!" Sai exclaimed, crossing his arms with a pout.

"I believe you," Itachi agreed with his little brother. Sai put a hand to his chest and he had a wounded expression on as he looked at the elder Uchiha.

"Itachi-san! How could you! I thought you at least would vouch for my sanity," he said dramatically. He turned to Deidara with a pout and clasped hands, but Deidara just grinned.

"Nope, sorry. You lost that a while ago. Everyone who knows you would agree," the blonde replied.

"Damn," Sai muttered before brightening. "Naruto-kun will vouch for me! When he wakes up we can ask him, and he'll definitely say I'm not crazy!"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at him. "You've tried to molest him countless times and you always bother him with the weirdest things. You honestly believe he won't say you're crazy?"

"Yes," Sai said simply, his usual innocent smile of obliviousness in place. Sasuke found that he had missed that smile on his friend. The last time he had seen it had been before everything had spiraled out of control. But now everything was better. Snake was gone, no one had died, and most importantly, Naruto was back safe and sound. Now all they had to do was wait for Naruto to get better, and maybe things would be back to how they were. No, that wasn't right…things never go back to how they used to be, they always change someway or another. Sasuke changed his thought. Things wouldn't be like before, they would be better. He would make sure of it…somehow.

* * *

Sasuke woke in the middle of the night, confused and annoyed. He didn't know what had woken him up, but he wished it hadn't. Moonlight streamed through the window as he sighed and turned away from it, wanting only to go back to sleep. Sudden rustling reached his ears before the voice came.

"Nnng! Sto…nn! Haa!"

Sasuke turned back over as more rustling—much more frantically this time—came, and he saw Naruto in the bed across from him. He nearly started, having almost forgotten in his half-asleep state that he shared a room with the normally boisterous, now unconscious and feverish blonde. He could see the other panting and the glistening of the thin sheen of sweat across Naruto's tanned forehead. Every so often he would twitch a little or one of his limbs would shift quickly, immediately telling Sasuke that the other was having a dream. A nightmare of some sort actually, if the distressed look on the blonde's face was anything to go by.

Sasuke frowned. Fevers only ever served to make nightmares worse, and he was certain any nightmare Naruto could be having at the moment would be as far from pleasant as possible. Naruto grunted and made a few more distressed noises before Sasuke resolved to push himself into a sitting position and then out of bed. He winced as he felt his wound disturbed, but pushed thoughts of it to the back of his mind. He could deal with pain. It couldn't be anywhere near what Naruto had gone through, anyway. Besides, as long as his didn't move too recklessly, he wouldn't open the stitches in his stomach. Sure he could call a nurse or someone to deal with the blonde, but he felt he needed to do something. He wanted to do something.

Sasuke made his way to the small bathroom within his hospital room. He took some paper towels and wet them before walking back out and over to the blonde's bed, not caring that he was dripping all over himself and the floor. He set a few of the damp paper towels on a nearby table as he sat in a chair that he pulled over, and then used the rest of the paper towels to wipe at the blonde's forehead. Naruto whimpered as the cool water came in contact with his hot skin, but his twitching didn't stop, nor did his troubled expression leave.

"I don't…naah…please…don't hurt…" Naruto mumbled incoherently as Sasuke continued dabbing his forehead. Of course he was having a nightmare about Snake. It was a recent traumatic experience, so it would be fresh for his mind to use as ammunition for a nightmare. "Don't hurt…him…nnn…"

Sasuke was a bit surprised at the blonde's last fragmented sentence. Of course, he couldn't quite prove that it had been a sentence, but it still left him curious.

"Who don't you want hurt?" the young Uchiha asked quietly, not expecting any answer. He didn't receive one either. Naruto's twitching began to calm down as Sasuke kept on wiping his forehead with the cold, wet paper towels he had. Sasuke wondered what was happening in the blonde's dream world as even his expression began to relax. He guessed that it was most likely something peaceful as now only his eyes twitched under their lids, lazily compared the frantic pace they had been keeping before.

"This is how your dreams should be dobe," he muttered, pulling his hands back into his lap for the moment. He stared contemplatively at the blonde for a few moments, absently picking apart the soggy paper towel. What would he say to Naruto when he finally woke up?

He'd have to apologize probably, definitely, but saying sorry wasn't exactly something that Sasuke was used to doing. Still, he knew he had to. The pain in his stomach wasn't only from his wound. It had been there ever since he'd left Naruto at the lunch table, when Sai had called him childish, and it had been slowly eating away at him ever since. He felt guilty, and he wasn't used to dealing with something like that.

Then Naruto had been taken during all of that, and Sasuke had shown up to rescue him? How was Naruto supposed to take that? He was certain to be confused; Sasuke knew it. Sasuke may have seen that he was wrong, but that didn't mean Naruto knew that he'd come to that realization.

And maybe he wouldn't even know what had happened when he finally woke up. After all, Naruto hadn't exactly been the one he and Sai had met while on their rescue mission. It had been Kyuubi, Naruto's other personality. Tsunade had answered, albeit hesitantly, he and Sai's queries about why Naruto had called himself Kyuubi, and why he had just seemed all around different. Kyuubi, it seemed, had been made to help Naruto through his first encounter with Snake at such a young age, and he had been brought back out to help him in the second time around. Even Sai, who had known from the beginning that the blonde had been a boy and even heard his story within his first day of meeting the other, hadn't known about Kyuubi. Sasuke wondered whether Sakura, Ino, and the others knew about Kyuubi, but somehow he doubted that. Naruto may be close to the blonde and pink haired girls, but if he hadn't told them from the beginning that he was a boy, he wasn't likely to have revealed something like having another personality to them either.

Sasuke had a sudden urge to laugh, but he swallowed it behind a grin he rarely ever used, in the off chance that he would wake the blonde if he made any noise. The whole situation was starting to sound like a bad soap opera. Now all they needed was for Naruto to go into a two-year coma and then admit when he wakes up that he really is a girl, and was only joking about lying about his gender. Either that or Sasuke would have to fall in love with his 'sexy' nurse-that-he-didn't-actually-think-was-sexy, and the young Uchiha was quite certain that wouldn't happen. Soap opera's usually didn't feature two boys in love with each other anyway. Then again, Sasuke knew there was always the possibility of his affections that had somehow grown for the blonde boy to be completely one-sided, but Sai had seemed pretty sure that they weren't. Then again, Sasuke knew not to trust Sai's every word. He had a tendency to lie just when you thought he was telling the truth.

Sasuke sighed as Naruto shifted a little. The blonde seemed fine now. No more nightmares bothering him or making him cry out, and Sasuke was relieved. He had been able to help, and he was glad for that. He hated being helpless and useless.

A wave of tiredness swept over the young Uchiha, and he yawned as a result. Carefully, he laid his head down on the side of Naruto's bed, making himself comfortable on his arms. He would rest for a little and then go back to his own bed. He was too tired to gather the energy to do so now. It had nothing to do with his want to be near the blonde boy for just a little longer. Heavy eyelids dropped slowly until eventually Sasuke's breathing evened out and he fell into a restful sleep.

* * *

He was running. Snake was behind him, so close he could almost feel the deranged man's breath upon his neck, sending shivers up and down his spine. There was darkness all around. He didn't even know where he was. All he knew was that he needed to get out and get out fast. He didn't want to think of what he would be subjected to this time if he were caught. It only got worse each time, and he felt that he wouldn't have Kyuubi to take over for him either. He looked over his shoulder, certain that he would see Snake behind him in close pursuit, but all he saw was the inky blackness of wherever he was. He looked back in front of him, and immediately slid to a halt. Naruto was paralyzed with shock at the figure before him.

Snake stood there, only a foot away, with a maniacal grin plastered upon his deformed face. Naruto wanted to run, he wanted to move, he wanted to scream, anything but stand there vulnerable and able to be captured, but he couldn't. Everything in his body was frozen. His legs, his arms, his lungs. His lungs were frozen. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breath, damn it! Snake just smiled at the blonde's misfortune and closed the distance between them. His hands came up to cup the blonde's face as his lips moved to form words Naruto dreaded.

"Let's play Naru-chan."

And then suddenly he was sitting up rapidly, his throat swollen in post-nightmarish fear to keep his scream from coming out. There was a pain in his stomach and he gripped at it as his breath came out in pants. For a moment he was dazed, thinking that he was still in the old house and was now finally awake for Snake to play with once again just like in his dream, and he didn't notice the previously sleeping boy stirring beside him. Then things began to become clearer. He felt too warm, too comfortable, too…safe.

"Naruto…?" a low voice said sleepily from beside him, and Naruto jerked away from the source in fright. It was too close, way too close for comfort. But then the face that belonged to the voice registered and he was in disbelief.

"Sasuke…" he breathed, not really believing that Sasuke was actually sitting next to him in this dark room. Upon hearing his name said back to him, the younger Uchiha was suddenly more alert as he stared at Naruto with the same look of disbelief, although there was relief reflected there as well. They stayed like that for a while, Naruto attempting to comprehend the situation and Sasuke trying to decide what he should say now that the blonde was awake. He certainly hadn't had much time before Naruto woke up to really decide. Tsunade had told him that Naruto would be up before the doctors said he would, but Sasuke hadn't expected him to be up again this early. He had only woken up himself the day before!

"Where are—?" Naruto began to ask, breaking the silence. Sasuke cut in quickly.

"The hospital," he answered with an awkward cough. Honestly, what was he supposed to do now? He looked at the blonde's face, which seemed much more relaxed than before when it held an intense expression.

"Ah…so then he didn't get you," Naruto said with a shaky voice, although a bit of a smile had slipped onto his face. Sasuke marveled at the fact that the blonde could even produce such an expression after what he'd been through, but he was distracted as the comment he'd made registered.

"Get me? What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion lining his voice. Suddenly Naruto's expression turned to one of worry.

"Ah, wait, we're in a hospital and it's night time, right? Then why are you here? You're hurt aren't you?! He _did_ get you, didn't he!" he exclaimed.

"It's nothing dobe, now what are you talking about?" Sasuke asked again. Naruto ignored his question again.

"It's not nothing if you're here! Where were you hurt? I want to know!" he insisted anxiously.

"It's nothing, leave it alone dobe," Sasuke responded with a glare.

"Teme! Just tell me!" Naruto nearly shouted, glaring right back. Sasuke was about to retort, but his voice died in his throat as he saw the desperate look in the blue eyes staring angrily at him. They were glossy and ready to spill tears, but he knew Naruto was holding them back with all he was worth.

"Tch." He looked away from the blonde to glare at the wall, maybe hoping to burn a hole through it. "I got shot in the stomach. Happy?"

Silence. Sasuke inwardly cringed at the tone nasty tone he'd used.

"Why would I be happy about that teme? You might hate me now, but you're still a precious person to me," Naruto told him quietly. Sasuke kept his gaze averted. He sighed heavily after a few minutes and ran a hand through his mussed hair distractedly.

"What was your dream about?" he asked finally. He didn't know what to say, but he could see that Naruto was still freaked about his dream. He might as well start there.

"My…dream?" Naruto responded slowly, as if not quite recalling that he had woken up nearly screaming from it. Sasuke turned back to the blonde with a bit of an exasperated look.

"Yes your dream. The one you just had that woke me up because you were making so much," he replied and then bit his tongue. Getting angry and annoyed wasn't helping anything. "Talking about it is supposed to help if you're scared," he mumbled.

"I'm not scared teme!" Naruto snapped, crossing his arms.

"Well then see if I care!" Sasuke snapped back, glaring at Naruto's frowning face as he felt his frustration boil over. He made to get up and walk back to his own bed, but he was stopped as a hand grasped his arm.

"What?" he spat. He just wanted to go to sleep now. He couldn't control his reactions as well as he wanted to now, and it was all because it was only four in the morning. The hand didn't let go and the owner dismissed his harsh tone.

"I just…don't go. I know you still hate me, but I didn't mean to snap at you and I really do want you to stay, I just don't want to talk about that…not yet…please…" Naruto said in a rushed voice. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Sasuke finally moved. He grasped Naruto's wrist that held him in place and removed it. For a second, Naruto thought that Sasuke was going to leave him again, but was pleasantly surprised when instead the young Uchiha sat down in the chair next to him once again.

"Sasuke…"

"What do you want to talk about then?" Sasuke asked with a bit of a scowl, but Naruto could see he wanted to stay. As the blonde thought of what he wanted to ask the other, he settled himself back into bed. From his pillow, he stared up at the raven-haired boy.

"How is everyone?" he asked, wanting to start with small things, even though he really did want to know how they all were. He didn't really even know how long he was gone for.

"They're fine. Worried about you obviously. No one really knew where you went until a few reporters caught onto the story and aired it," Sasuke replied.

"I'm gonna have loads of fun trying to avoid them, aren't I?" Naruto joked. He caught the barest twitch of Sasuke's lips before the smile was stopped.

"If anyone can do it, I'm sure you can," Sasuke said. The blonde boy giggled, and Sasuke felt somewhat relieved. At the very least, Naruto could still smile after what he'd been through. A comfortable silence passed through them, and for a moment, both were content. It had been a while since either had had that feeling. Naruto shifted a little as his expression became serious.

"Na Sasuke…how did you get shot? Did Snake really end up getting you too?" he finally asked. He needed to know if he had done enough to keep Snake away from Sasuke or not. He felt guilty as it was for just knowing that Sasuke had gotten hurt. Sasuke gave him a look of confusion.

"You should know…" he started and then mumbled to himself, "no, Tsunade-san said you wouldn't remember."

"Remember what?" Naruto asked, now confused himself. The only way he wouldn't be able to remember something would be if…color drained from Naruto's face as the realization dawned on him. Sasuke shook his head.

"I found out where you were taken, so I went to go get you, and Sai came with me," he told the blonde. This statement shocked the blonde more than the possibility that Sasuke knew about Kyuubi.

"You and Sai tried to…from Snake? Teme, are you an idiot?!" Naruto exclaimed. He propped himself up on his elbow on his side to properly glare at the other.

"I'm not an idiot, usuratonkatchi! If we hadn't come to get you then, you would have had to be there even longer until I could tell Itachi and the others! What if he had killed you in that time?!" Sasuke responded angrily.

"Baka! He wouldn't have killed me until he either had you or he killed your brother! I was trying to keep him from taking you too, but you just had to come on your own!" Naruto said.

"Because I was trying to _save_ you dobe! Do you even know what was going to happen if Sai and I hadn't come then? He was going to throw you in a hole and bury you," Sasuke said, his voice lowering as he continued. "He was going to bury you alive, dobe. He was out there digging when Sai and I found you, and if we hadn't come, Itachi said he didn't know if we would have been able to find you."

Naruto swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"So don't call me an idiot, dobe. I'd rather have you here than six feet under," Sasuke finished. He stared down at his lap, his energy drained from getting worked up, while Naruto watched him carefully. Finally the blonde shook his head and dropped himself back onto his pillow. He looked up at the ceiling, watching the shadows flicker over it as he spoke.

"For someone that doesn't like me much, you're pretty concerned about me," he stated. "Sai-kun I can understand, but you're just…weird, you know that?"

He felt the mattress of his bed sink a little to his left as Sasuke laid his head back down on it.

"I don't hate you dobe. I wouldn't have risked my life for someone I didn't like," the Uchiha explained. Naruto closed his eyes and let a warm feeling flow over him at those words. He smiled a little.

"After all of this? Yeah…I figured. I just wanted to hear you say it," he said quietly.

"Dobe," Sasuke replied with a smile of his own, knowing now that he was forgiven for leaving.

"Teme," Naruto said back playfully. It wasn't long before Sasuke heard the blonde's breathing even out, and he followed him into sleep soon after as well.

* * *

**A/N: **Umm…yeah, please don't kill me. I know I say this every chapter, but really, I mean it. I thought this chapter was just gonna flow out right after the last one, but instead it decided to be troublesome (in the immortal words of Shikamaru) and be as difficult as possible. This came out very slowly. Honestly every time I opened up the document I would only get about a sentence or two down before I just got frustrated and did something else. I actually ended up rewriting this several times, which is something I usually don't do. Normally it's just small sections of adding or deleting tiny details, but this time it was, like, the entire thing. So yeah. But here it is, about two months late. I was shooting for Valentine's Day at least, but alas, I am not good with deadlines. Especially ones I set for myself. There's just a little tidbit left of this, which I decided would be good as a short little epilogue I guess. Just tying up loose ends and leaving an open interpretation to what will happen after. So please read on because I decided to give you them both on the same day.

**Diclaimer: **don't own


	19. Epilogue

Naruto stood strong as he watched the wooden casket being lowered into the ground. He could cry later, but for now he was strong. His eyes passed over the few attending the funeral. Tsunade had a few tears running down her face for her lost friend, which she wiped away as she noticed Naruto's glance. He knew she'd want to go out drinking later, and she'd let it out then. Jiraiya was sure to go with her, so Naruto knew she was in good, although perverted, hands. Sure enough, next to his blonde aunt was the white haired man. His face was solemn and respectful, very much in contrast to his normal playful and immature attitude. Naruto vaguely remember seeing the man at his father's funeral so long ago, and his expression then was the same as now. Naruto took comfort in the fact that Jiraiya at least knew when to be serious, even if he normally didn't show it.

Iruka and Kakashi were next to them. Iruka had heard about what had happened and wanted to offer his condolences. Of course, Tsunade invited him to the funeral services after hearing that he had seen Yumi just before she had been killed. Kakashi hadn't really known his mother, so Naruto assumed that he had tagged along to be there for Iruka. They were nearly always around each other nowadays, so it wasn't much of a surprise to Naruto to see them come together.

Then there was Itachi, whom was there to offer condolences for having a family member caught up in the case he was attempting to solve. It was solved now, at the very least. The murderer known as Snake was dead. He had been shot in the head when Itachi and other police officials had arrived on the scene, so Naruto had been told. When Itachi had questioned him on the things he did remember, he was filled in on what he didn't know when Sasuke and Sai rescued him.

Naruto glanced at the pale, black haired boy, who looked even paler dressed in funeral attire. Sai met his glance for a second before looking away again. Back in the hospital, Naruto had belatedly realized that Sasuke _and_ Sai had gone to save him, and if Sasuke was hurt in the hospital, then Sai most likely was as well. This epiphany had come to him soon after he woke up once again from a nightmare. He had woken Sasuke up, who was still asleep with his head on Naruto's bed, and asked the Uchiha how Sai was. It had been a relief to hear that Sai had been relatively unharmed coming out of his fight with the psycho. It was an even bigger relief to see the boy later on that day, and with two companions as well.

Sakura and Ino had tagged along that day intending to see Sasuke and had gotten a surprise when they saw that Naruto was awake. Fortunately it had been a pleasant surprise to them. The conversation had started awkwardly, but eventually they managed to clear out the apologies and forgiveness, and the tense air that went with it. Naruto felt that it was a complete miracle that Sakura, Ino, _and_ Sasuke had all been given back to him. Of course it was something he had hoped for at the time they had first left, but he wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't gone back to him. He was much more surprised that they _had_.

And of course since they were friends again, once Naruto had been released from the hospital, Ino had ordered him to come to her house. There, she and Sakura had cut and fixed his hair so that it wasn't such a choppy mess as it had been since he'd had to cut it. Now it was short, although long enough to hang in his face a little, and it looked nice, stylish.

The coffin hit the bottom of the six-foot deep grave plot at last and pulled Naruto out of his thoughts. Cerulean eyes moved to look over the head stone standing proud and new in front of the plot.

_Uzumaki Yumi_

_Loving wife and mother_

_June 16, 1971 – January 3, 2010_

Next to it was another, slightly older, but still standing proud and in good condition.

_Uzumaki Arashi_

_Loving husband, father, and protector_

_September 24, 1968 – July 20, 2000_

His mother and father. Both of them were dead now. Snake had made sure to take one each time he came into Naruto's life. But no more. Snake was dead, and he couldn't take any more of Naruto's precious people.

An unusually warm hand suddenly grasped his own freezing one and squeezed. The blonde turned to look beside him at Sasuke, who was giving him a concerned look.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. Naruto smiled softly at the brunette and then turned his expression to the sky.

"Yeah. I'm good. 'Kaa-san's wanted to see Otou-san for a while. So I think…everything will be just fine, as long as they're together. Ne, don't you think so?" he said, glancing over at the other. Sasuke studied him for a little longer before nodding and looking back out at the other mourners. Naruto truly was a wonder to him.

"Yeah. It'll be fine," he agreed.

Naruto looked back up at the sky and smiled again. He didn't miss the fact that Sasuke hadn't let go of his hand yet. Granted a funeral wasn't the most romantic place, Naruto still felt the warmth spreading from where they touched. As of yet, they were still friends, but Naruto was fine with that for now. Maybe later something else could happen, but now he was just content with how things were. He had Sasuke back and that was a good sign.

It was nearing the end of January now. The months were still cold and school was only half way over. There was still plenty of time to do what he wanted to, and now he had nothing to hide. Before, he'd had secrets, which he hid right out in the open. He had been one big walking secret. But the thing about secrets is that eventually people are going to find out. And everyone did find out. News reporters had managed to track him down in order to tell the whole story of the Snake serial murders, and he'd been interviewed more than a few times until Itachi managed to stop the torrent of reporters coming to his door. Things were finally beginning to calm down now, and people were finally getting more used to Naruto at school since he'd gone back.

Naruto was still getting used to being finally seen as he really was though. Still, he knew he could count on his friends, the ones who had stayed and the ones who had come back, including Kiba, although he was still a little weirded out by the whole thing. He was trying for Hinta's sake and that was good enough for Naruto.

"Hey brat." Tsunade approached the teenager with Jiraiya close behind.

Naruto released Sasuke's hand stealthily and moved forward to meet her. "Hmm?"

The blonde woman bopped him lightly on the head and asked, "Why're you smiling like that?"

It wasn't meant to be scolding, although it held that kind of tone, and Naruto understood it. He merely smiled at her as well.

"She would be happier up there with him than she would be here without her memories," he replied simply. Tsunade was a bit startled by this answer, but she guessed it was something she should have expected. He was just like his father, her brother, ever the optimist even if he had his bouts of self-doubt. She ruffled his hair, ignoring the annoyed noise Naruto made in response, and smiled a little.

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed. She removed her hand from his head and placed his on her hip. "Listen, I'm gonna be out for the rest of the day, so you can go out with your friends if you don't want to be alone at the house."

"Going drinking?" Naruto asked mockingly. She smirked.

"Just a little. Sake always goes well with a little gambling," she replied.

"Jiraiya-san better be able to keep you from spending all your money," he said.

"Who said he was coming with me?" Tsunade demanded.

"Well he's either stalking you at the moment, or he's going with you. Both are possible," Naruto stated.

"Hey, I resent that. I've only ever stalked Tsunade-chan once and that was in high school," Jiraiya exclaimed, back to his energized self. Tsunade glared at him and he shrunk back. Naruto laughed at this and Tsunade turned back to him with a warm smile.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'll just hang out with Sasuke and Sai, and maybe Sakura and Ino. They said they wanted to see me in a suit," Naruto replied, gesturing at his clothing.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then brat," Tsunade said with a wave, and with that she left with Jiraiya.

"Take care," Naruto called after them. His smile slowly dropped as he watched them get further and further away until he was simply staring after them with a blank expression. Suddenly he was attacked from behind by Sai and nearly pushed to the ground by the momentum of the strange boy.

"Sai…what the—?"

"Naru-chaaaaan! Come on, let's go have some fuuun. No more sad expressions, right Sasuke?" Sai exclaimed as he hugged the blonde from behind, swinging him around to face the younger Uchiha.

"Right," Sasuke answered with a smirk. Naruto made a show of struggling in Sai's grip.

"Arg! Can't a guy brood a little?" he said.

"Nope!" Sai responded happily as he began dragging the blonde to Itachi's car. The older Uchiha was already inside, waiting for them.

"But Sasuke does it!" Naruto complained.

"That's because he's Sasuke, and that's all he ever does," Sai explained.

"Exactly," Sasuke said, agreeing to the fact.

"So no more frowny faces or we tickle you to death," Sai concluded. Just because he could, Naruto frowned as much as he was able. Suddenly he was on the ground, laughing and shrieking like a little kid as Sai tickled his sides and stomach.

"Stop! Stop! Sasuke…haha! Help!" Naruto gasped out between laughing. Sasuke just stood to the side, amused for a little. After the morbid air of the funeral, this silliness was quite a relief, and Sasuke had no doubt that Sai was using it to get Naruto's mind away from any serious thoughts for the moment.

"Sorry dobe, you knew what was going to happen, but you did it anyway. It's your own fault you're in the mess," he said in response to the plea.

"You hahahaha…teme!" Naruto exclaimed. Sai finally let up with a grin as he saw the blonde running out of breath.

"Did you learn your lesson?" Sai asked smugly. Naruto grinned up at him.

"Yeah," he replied. Sai sat on the blonde's hips for a moment longer as Naruto continued to catch his breath.

"Hey…" the blonde said breathlessly, catching the attention of both boys. "Thanks."

Sai grinned down at him as he got up and off of the blonde. Sasuke let out a real smile for once and offered his hand to Naruto, who took it happily. Sasuke pulled him up, and Naruto brushed off the dust and grass that had gathered on his suit.

"Anytime," Sasuke replied for the both of them. Naruto and Sasuke smiled at each other and Sai let a sly smirk slip onto his face as he turned and skipped away to Itachi's car.

"Now let's go to see Sakura-san and Ino-san!" Sai said happily as he bounced along. Naruto grinned after him and punched a fist in the air.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed and then followed after his skipping friend, not letting go of Sasuke's hand. The younger Uchiha followed behind him obediently, purposefully walking slower than the blonde wanted to go. He didn't let go the other's hand either, and Naruto grinned wider at this.

"Come on slowpokes!" Sai called from the car.

"Tell that to Sasuke!" Naruto replied. Sai laughed and Naruto felt the happiest he'd been in a while. He was no longer hiding. Everything was exposed and now Naruto was completely okay with that. His mother had died, but it was something he could cope with. He had his friends. He knew they were there for him. It was okay. He was okay. Everything was finally as it should be.

Naruto laughed as he tugged Sasuke harder, making the Uchiha nearly trip. "Come on Sasuke."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

* * *

**A/N: **So short, I know, but it's the epilogue, and I felt this was a good place to stop. And at last we have come to the end! (bawls uncontrollably) Um…yeah. I'm quite proud of this just because I was able to finish it. Goodness, this ended up being about 172 pages in total on Word (faints). Most I've ever written, granted it took me a year or two.

I most definitely want to thank everyone who has read this the whole way through. Even if you're just following this silently, I appreciate the fact that you visit and make my hit counter go up as you do. For all of you who have taken the time to review, oh my goodness, I love you soooooooo, so, so, so much. You're all amazing, and I was always pleasantly surprised when it would pop up in my e-mail that I had reviews for this story! They always made my day when I read them, and there were times when I went back and re-read them all just to remind myself that I had people waiting for my chapters when I would get lazy. Anyway, basically, I think anyone who has made it to this point right……here! is pretty much amazing.

I'm not making a sequel for this because first of all, I don't think this story requires one, and second I wouldn't even know where to begin with a sequel. As for other future stories, I have a few ideas, but I honestly don't know what I'll do or when I'll post it. If you like my writing, just keep an eye out I guess.

Thank you everyone once again for all your support, and I really do hope you've enjoyed this story. Please review if you have the time, for it will be the last time and it will make me very happy to hear from you. You're all wonderful.

**Disclaimer:** even when this story is finished, I still don't own Naruto.


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